Growing up she heard about the end times
But they never felt so close
If showing love could make you a criminal
And wearing your own clothes

She got up, went to school
As if it wasn’t burning down
She looked at her friend, said with a smirk
I guess we’re illegal now

What was it about her heart that scared those men so much

Queer kid, where you gonna live now
Good kid, always getting kicked out
Of every place you’re not safe
To be just who you are

Coming up she knew about the balance
That it was hard to get it right
A kind defense or a patient fist
And safety in the fight

But overnight the whole world was changing
Just like a tape stuck in reverse
But if you have a good heart and a little mascara
You can push back on the curse

So with her girlfriend on her arm she marched into the light

Queer kid, where you gonna live now
Good kid, always getting kicked out
Of every place you’re not safe
To be just who you are
Brave kid, only you define you
But hey kid, we’re right behind you
So make your way, say your name
And show em who you are

Even the President’s treating you like a bad step-dad
Thinking everything that makes you different makes him look bad
And maybe there's a law, squeeze you so tight
Make you hate your body, give up the fight and just die
Why don't they call it what it is
Wholesale gendercide aimed right at the kids
While their own holy book says love your enemies
And all the little children, let em come unto me
Meanwhile they’re so busy changing all the rules
Building up the kingdom using all the devil’s tools
They forgot the way history’ll show just what they did
By then there’ll be green grass growing on the grave of that queer kid

Queer kid, where you gonna live now
Good kid, always getting kicked out
Of every place you’re not safe
To be just who you are
Brave kid, only you define you
So hey kid, we’re right behind you
So make your way, say your name
And show em who you are

Hey kid, where you gonna live now
Good kid, always getting kicked out
Of every place you’re not safe
To be just who you are
Queer kid, don’t you turn the shine
down
Good kid, always getting kicked out
So make your way, say your name
And show em who you are

Going out’s like a war zone 
I hope everybody comes home
You never know which neighbor’s gonna turn on you
You can’t judge em by a flag ‘cause if you do

Oh, it’s the pot and the kettle black
What’s the difference when the attack is at your door
And your body is your one defense 
You gotta draw away the fire from your friends 

And it’s just so easy to see
When you look at me
Oh, I can read that energy
And your secret’s written on your face
And all it takes is a little bit of nail polish 

So I’m a worst-case futurist
Whether language or with a fist
I always say the best threats self-identify
When you know a trick that always draws the eye

And, it’s just so easy to see
When you look at me
Oh, I can read that energy
And your secret’s written on your face
And all it takes is a little bit of nail polish 

And like a prize fight
You try and win it in the ring, oh
You could wind up dead
‘Cause any ally or decent father knows
You know you gotta plan ahead
And be brave and pick a shade
And always be the first one through the door   

Oh, it’s just so easy to see
When you look at me
Oh, I can read that energy
(Your secret’s out)
Oh, it’s just so easy to see
When you look at me
Oh, I can read that energy
(You’re not safe, now)
Oh, it’s just so easy to see
When you look at me
Oh, I can feel that energy
And your secret’s written on your face
And all it takes is a little bit of nail polish

It does not require bravery
To face the world as I am
Between assumption and reality
I’m an ordinary man

But, I see you weighing life and death
Every day in your skin
You’re just fighting for integrity
The outside matching what’s within

And I’m with you in the fight
But my heart can’t bear to count the costs

For you to stay safe out in the open
I want you free but I need you alive
You gotta stay safe wherever you’re going
If I just can’t be by your side

As you dance upon the razor wire
Still beautiful by any name
Oh, don’t be fearful of that dizzy height
But watch your footing just the same

‘Cause in your body politic
Just breathing in and out is like an act of war

So please stay safe out in the open
I want you free but I need you alive
You gotta stay safe wherever you’re going
If I just can’t be by your side

I could never love you more than this
Whether a daughter or a son
‘Cause you’re ten times the man I’ll ever be
As the woman you’ve become

But could you stay safe out in the open
I want you free but I need you alive
You gotta stay safe wherever you’re going
If I just can’t be by your side

I could not have imagined I could wake up with the sun
These days I’m taking coffee orders
Long before my friends on the east side are waking up

Even 18 months ago the colors all were gray
Warring with my family and all the words I had 
To try and say who I was

I had to cut my way free
And thank god a friend knew just what to say to me

I was there too, it won’t be this way forever

Some wounds are emotional, you don’t have to cover up 
But sometimes scars are as literal as ransom notes 
And they always show up and down your arms

‘Cause there’s a cost that must be paid
To tear down these walls you built just to keep you safe

And I was there too, it won’t be this way forever
Forever

The conditions of love
In the calligraphy of pain
You had to write it all down
So you’d never be the same

You may not have noticed me
Oh, we all look the same
When you’re feeling the weight of the world
Barely thirteen and fighting for your life everyday 

But when you paid for your coffee
Oh, your shirt sleeve got pushed up
Probably nobody noticed just before you pulled it down 
And your cheeks got flushed
But on your face

Oh, I saw in you what I knew in me
And I risked a note tucked in your coffee sleeve

It said, I was there too, it won’t be this way forever
Oh, I was there too, it won’t be this way forever
Forever

We made a deal, we don’t apologize for feeling our feelings
But hammer to knee, it comes as no surprise
Our feet start kicking
And fists clinch like ones used to hit back at unsafe lovers
Haunted by every broken heart

Baby, I know it scares the shit out of you
It scares the shit out of me
After all that we’ve done
And all that we know 
The muscle memory
Asking to be believed
Just asking to be trusted
And to trust and believe

It’s crazy the way one day we agonize over water dripping 
The next day a flood swallows up our whole lives and we’re skinny-dipping
Bound up and free, mourning dove song
A crazy knowing of things true and ever meant to be

Baby, I know it scares the shit out of you
It scares the shit out of me
After all that we’ve done
And all that we know 
The muscle memory
Asking to be believed
Just asking to be trusted
And to trust and believe

Honey, we don’t need the box top if we are the puzzle pieces 
God knows how perfectly we fit

But trust me, I know it scares the shit out of you
It scares the shit out of me, too
After all that we’ve done
And all that we know 
The muscle memory
Asking to be believed
Just asking to be trusted
And to trust and believe

If you need a mother
I will be your mother 
Translove

Do you need a father
You could be a daughter 
Of translove

You don’t need a cover
You’re a worthy lover
In translove

Above you, below you
Before you, behind you
With you and for you
Sola translove 

Could you use a brother
Do you need another 
Translove 

He could be your sister
We could heal the fissure
Translove

You don’t need insurance
Fear of jurisprudence 
In translove

Above you, below you
Before you, behind you
In and around you
Sola translove 

You don’t need approval
There is no removal
From translove

You don’t need a savior 
You were born in favor
In translove

No need to believe it
No prayer to receive it
Translove

This world was never meant to hold you
It does not recognize your face
It twists and it tries to control you 
In one and one there is no shade

So you speak in other tongues 
March to every drum they’re beating to hide in view
But sometimes you forget
And nearly break your neck, the whiplash is killing you
‘Cause you don’t feel safe 
Unless you stay in your place 

When kisses are turned into weapons
You’re not safe in your own bed
The politics of love and self-acceptance
Too many voices in your head

Meanwhile some politicians
Who never even met you tell you you don’t exist 
Even though unlike the so-called 
God they say condemns you, well there’s proof of it
‘Cause here you are showing up 
To a life those men could not survive even a day 
Oh, if they were in your place 

Now traveling the lines of liberation
It’s hard to know how far you’ve come
How scars could be an inspiration
For everything you could become

Surviving with a hope
Thriving with a chosen family surrounding you
Oh, you may not see it now, but 
Everyone who’s gone before you is living proof
Oh, you can be like them
‘Cause they’ve all been in your place

You’re not alone in your place

Headlines scream and voices fly like sling and stone
The hate they wield, a sharpened knife
It cuts the hope
They twist the truth, they spread the fear to hide the lie
When the world feels dark and the path unclear
You realize
Child, this may be the time to close your eyes

Imagination banned for all the books you’ve read
They misdirect with trigger words
And bullet breath
The news reports a broken song of rights denied
They build their walls around your heart
In crooked lines
Child, this may be the time to close your eyes

The preachers rage, the pundits sneer, a war of words
They twist religion, make it hate
They lock the doors
Their moral high ground planted flags, their martyr’s cries
They judge and scorn and fail to see
The rainbow skies
Child, this may be the time to close your eyes

But listen softly for the sound, the burning fuse
Igniting painters, activists
Prophets bringing news
Of families, stories, hearts and minds opening wide
The hopes of all the painted bruises
Realized

Of all god’s children’s thriving lives
May this be the day
Of husbands, husbands, wives and wives
May this be the day
When beauty’s beauty and love is love
May this be the day
Thank god you’re safe and you’re enough
May this be the day

When all the faceless hear their names
Let this be the night
When all the shapeless rest in frames
Let this be the night
When all the tears are wiped away
Let this be the night
When all true justice falls like rain
Let this be the night
Oh child, this may be the time, open up your eyes

Open up your eyes
Open up your eyes
Open up your eyes

You are enough

Your power is as unlimited as your imagination

You are wise

You are not alone

You are becoming, forever becoming, you are always becoming

Focus on the thing and people that bring you joy

Show up with your whole self, if you do not you are withholding a gift from the world

I’m so proud of you

You are so brave to be authentic in a world that demands conformity 
And that is your path out of suffering and into joy

Keep breathing in and out

You are who you say you are

The world needs you

You matter

Your are an embodiment of possibility

There is nothing wrong with you

You’ve done it in the past, you can do it again now

You are loved
You are loved
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved 
You are loved