Sylvi Morgan
We Convenient Scapegoats
We marched through deserts without complaint.
We volunteered to do it again, despite the fragments we left behind.
We chiseled our hearts upon those sands.
We never complained about the marble dust we were left to carry back with us.
We bound our binders, tucked away our tucks.
We dyed our souls pink, white, and blue, wearing proudly in secret what you would not allow.
We knew to display it outside; would void the blank checks we wrote with our lives.
We were told be open, be proud, so we hesitantly shielded our eyes and stepped into the light.
We worked harder to show that bad apples did not define us honorable others.
We were told, not long after the days of celebration: you’ve been tricked, get out.
We fought harder, gave the meager heart dust we had left to prove we were worthy of protection too.
We changed again, back to welcome, and struggled to rehab through the whiplash.
We became ambassadors and teachers, to show we were worthy of all we bled for.
We were told again, four years later: get back in the shadows or die in the light; stripped of the freedom grated from our lives.
We hang up uniforms and boots because nothing brings a nation together like hating sacrificial lambs, from birth to death.
We ensured your freedom to hate us and scapegoat your low approval.
We were thrown to the lions we tamed for you.
We may be hated for four more years, but know, we can’t be kept from the fight: we’re used to, and comfortable with, fighting in the dark.
We know and bear the truth; the freedoms allowing you to pass laws that strip our careers and out us in passports are in your hands, because of the blood we paid to put it there.
We scapegoats remain, to do it all again.
We know: it is love and the willingness to protect those who would not do the same for you that ensures we are never left undefended.
“‘We Convenient Scapegoats was born in the aftermath of targeted attempts to erase transgender Americans and service members. Hate cannot erase what love provided.” —Sylvi Morgan
Sylvi Morgan is a speculative fiction author whose work explores identity, resilience, systems, and the fire that shapes human destiny. She spends her days writing, reading, studying history, and spoiling her two cats.
