OutWrite

eZine

Message From

the Editor

The OutWrite eZine was created to amplify the voices of our 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and to foster connection, understanding, and celebrate excellence in written and spoken word.

This year’s OutWrite eZine has collected many poetry submissions from LGBT+ youth 13-21. As the third annual eZine, we are proud to present the amazing talent found in today’s youth. All with diverse experiences and knowledge, these poets share their wisdom through creative and soulful stories.

The authors are mainly based in Victoria and Vancouver Island but these pieces can provide powerful and personal messages all over Canada/the world. With intentions of spreading awareness of LGBT+ issues, comforting words those in need, and to inspire others to rise and stand for what they believe in, the eZine and all the lovely authors who submitted their works hope to achieve the previously stated goals through celebrating the beauty in untamed poetry and the young and proud LGBT+ community.

Enjoy the following poetry and let the stories inspire you to stay strong, to try writing your own, and to share these beautiful pieces with family and friends!

Silke Staffeldt-Jost – Editor
VPS Youth Leadership Council

This is our third annual OutWrite Publication and we are honored to showcase the talents of these poets and share the creative, personal and authentic work they have put forth for this publication.

OutWrite is more important than ever. Considering the pandemic, we are going through and the limitation of seeing each other face to face to express ourselves with each other.  This collection of poems is an assortment of themes, lived experiences and metaphorical experiences. We encourage you, the reader to share a copy of this with your families, schools, and organizations to enjoy.

This all ages publication sparks inspiration, conviction and pulls at the heart strings and challenges us to be more inclusive, to love unconditionally and to grow into the best version of ourselves.

Thank you to all who submitted this year. We hope to see you again next year.

Nick Luney
VPS Youth Initiatives Committee Chair

2020

OutWrite Ezine

OutWrite eZine Cover - 2020

Cover Illustration

Kierrah Babcock
@I.am.the.nothing

Graphic Design

Ardent West Creative

Youth Initiatives Committee Chair

Nick Luney

Editor

Silke Staffeldt-Jost

Publisher

Victoria Pride Society

2019

OutWrite Ezine




Cover Illustration

Finn Lewis

Graphic Design

Ardent West Creative

Youth Editor

Silke Staffeldt-Jost

Editor

Kelly Legge

Publisher

Victoria Pride Society

2018

OutWrite Ezine




Cover Illustration

Aurora Finkle

Graphic Design

Ardent West Creative

Editor

Kelly Legge

Publisher

Victoria Pride Society

2020

Entries

A Rebels Cry

Tyler Johnson

Your church is a gravesite

...

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A Woman I Could Love

Jaqi Hinkle

I think I am kinder to myself

...

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An Abundance Of Citrus

Olive Elzinga

Your first attempt at breaking

...

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Black Hole

Jazzy DeFehr

A wave crashing onto the shore

...

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Candy Man

n.o.con

He told me he was like a

...

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Damsel in distress

Jazzy DeFehr

I always wanted to be a

...

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Decora Clown

Kierrah Babcock

Artwork

...

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Heart Apartment

Olive Elzinga

In my head exists an

...

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I Can’t Breathe

OWG

I read the news. Tears like

...

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R E F L E C T I O N S

Monroe Maxwell

The first time I met myself

...

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River

Monroe Maxwell

Artwork – River Phoenix as Mike

...

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Shakey Lover

Brendan Lindsay

I am so scared of love

...

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Something so small

Monroe Maxwell

A far away land. The touch

...

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Storm Warning

Hazel Woodbridge

Now, I know you are probably

...

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The Deep

Hazel Woodbridge

There are some things

...

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The Players

Hazel Woodbridge

Shakespeare once said that

...

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Unrequited

Jaqi Hinkle

Isn’t it cruel that when I

...

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Until Then

OWG

I never understood the expression

...

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Untitled

Jamie

On Ashwood road, Xavier Rivers

...

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We Are All Temporary

n.o.con

The harder you squint

...

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2019

Entries

A Child’s Need

Tyler Johnson

A child’s need is met, The answering calls

...

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A Trans Boy

RNAB

Binding his chest and getting stabbed

...

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Bach & Breeze

Aaron Smail

A welcome breeze on a hot day

...

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bad eggs and ham

Jen B.

itty bitty piggies, march into markets

...

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Brother of Icarus

Jaqi Hinkle

Daedalus had a second son, Icarus had

...

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Dance of the Bat People

Taryn Muldoon

When a bat falls from the sky

...

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dear “dad”

Reah Dheenshaw

To the father I never had, I hope

...

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euphoric oddities

Mx Kade

so, do you want to be a boy or a girl

...

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Family

Emma Bishop

With sweaty palms, I stand in a

...

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For All of Us

Taryn Muldoon

Light dashing to the ground spreads flat

...

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Gloriously Indecent

Olive Elzinga

We are normal. We are the princes

...

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little brother

Kai Sjerven

look at him go he’s soaring and laughing

...

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Mirrors

Ash Barnard

They are one of the only recognized things

...

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Moving to Lesbos

Jaqi Hinkle

“We need a new Amazonia” she says

...

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My Body, A Temple

Tyler Johnson

Words hit skin like stones Chipping away

...

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Our Love is Dangerous

Ava Webb

Our love is dangerous It’s not just you

...

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Our Song

Aaron Smail

Your laugher is but a song Your smile but

...

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Palindrome Girl

Ash Barnard

I remember you Just like I promised to you,

...

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Patience

Ly Beaton

I’ll apologize for no reason As if I’ve

...

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Sugar Rush

Emma Bishop

Eating a plum, under the summer sun,

...

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The Forest Absorbs You

Ripley Stevens

The forest absorbs you The moss crawls

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These have lips too

Olive Elzinga

I have a story to tell. About the things I have

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this is an intermission

Mx Kade

this is the in between, the lawless middle

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Tigress

Charlie Marie

Each and every woman out there is part

...

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Toxic

Reah Dheenshaw

He told me he loved me with all his

...

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Untitled

Aria Stewart

How dare you tell me That I’m unnatural

...

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2018

Entries

‘SJW’

Seanna-Lee

You think we’re fighting for justice, but

...

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(No Title)

Ripley Stevens

They were the kids who flinched

...

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(No Title)

Samuel Park

No fats, femmes, Asians,

...

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A day in the life of a trans person

Maisie Bodrug

My boobs are made of silicone

...

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a not so straight future

Hailey Merritt

Her hair, Golden like a fiery sunset

...

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A Star to Call my Own

Olive Elzinga

We are the centers of our own universe

...

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Aware of Bodies

Emma Bishop

The sun starts to go down

...

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But Not Her

Anonymous

I’ve had two years to figure this out

...

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Colours of the Rainbow

Maisie Bodrug

Black and Brown take the crown

...

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Curtain Call

Ray Nufer

She tore me apart in a beautiful way

...

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Dear Gender

Emma Bishop

Gender, I have a habit of disobeying you

...

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Death Don’t Be Shy

Kaizen Geoffrion

Death don’t be shy

...

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Enlightenment

Aaron Smail

Into the room where I remain

...

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Game Over

Tyler Johnson

They say my name like a slur

...

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Girls

Hazel Woodbridge

Have you ever kissed a girl

...

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go.

Jen B.

take it and take it and take it til it’s done

...

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Happily Ever After

Jasmine DeFehr

Like Romeo and Juliet

...

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hiraeth

Sara Marie Nason

i hear her voice

...

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i could have died

Ira Strain

i could have drowned in the ocean

...

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In Through the Cracks

Jaqi Hinkle

Slip in through the cracks

...

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Leaders

Jasmine DeFehr & Nyoman Sparshu

Taking action, taking a stand

...

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Let me be perfectly queer

Olive Elzinga

See me standing before you

...

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Like A Phoenix

Kaizen Geoffrion

I used to wear lacy black underwear

...

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Me Vs. the Television

John Fitzsimmons

The television is staring at me again

...

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My Rainbow

Anonymous

Red Her lips as I kiss them

...

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On being Gay

Abi Paeth

thirsty for a drink you don’t know the name

...

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Peace in Colour

Anonymous

My world, beautiful

...

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Pick-up trucks and Gasoline

Hazel Woodbridge

“Are you happy?”

...

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Shattered

Anonymous

Its too much

...

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Sterling

Prince Loyd Besorio

It was Sterling who caught her heart

...

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Submerge

Ray Nufer

He was a profound oddity

...

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That’s So Gay

Anonymous

I hear it

...

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The moon and her sun

Ira Strain

She runs her fingers through my hair

...

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ticket to ride

Sara Marie Nason

nanny’s body, collapsed

...

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to my best friend now suddenly a stranger

Charlie Marie

To my best friend now suddenly a stranger

...

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TRIBUTE TO THE DEVIL

Charlie Marie

They say that god will give you

...

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We Are Done

ANONYMOUS

They called us a dream;

...

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