“All You Ever Wanted Was A Semyon to Hold,” by Semyon Kiyan
October 11, 2017
All You Ever Wanted Was A Semyon To Hold
After Anastacia Reneé
All you ever wanted
was a Semyon to hold
Why do you always have to be
there for your little sister?
Why did you get yourself into this?
Don’t you dare be transgender
Don’t you dare get hurt because
you care
Don’t you dare get your share
of negativity
Don’t you dare stand up
When you get yelled at
you sit there. Frozen
It’s ok. You’re used to it
It’s ok. They’re bluffing
It’s ok. You’re gonna be
alright
When your sister cries
You hold her and comfort her
like it’s the end
Why?
Older you get, the closer you get
to her
You understand everything
Now you know what you’re good at
Your life being a mystery
What’s gonna happen now?
No one knows
No one cares
It’s just you
All you feel is dryness on your fingers
Dryness everywhere
You’re adopted
You’re a boy
You’re a son, a brother, and a person
At least you’ve got sisters
to look out for
Semyon Kiyan wrote this poem while a student at Roosevelt High School, with WITS Writer-in-Residence Corinne Manning. He read his poem at Janet Mock, who opened our 2017/18 Women You Need to Know Series at Benaroya Hall on Wednesday, October 4th.