Poetry by Ethan O’Nan: “Meet New People They Said”

Meet New People They Said

Be social, don’t disassociate. Become known and know.
Your feet move forward. Your mind a cloud, left behind.
You carry the stench of a stranger.
“You’re in the wrong place. Try over there.”
“You don’t belong here. Hold while I transfer you”… on to someone else….not our problem...go away
Smile full of candy teeth, delicate glass, hold steady.
If they realize, candied powder, jagged glass…laughter and disdain

Leave the past behind. Speak in present tense.
“Hello. Can anyone hear me? Can anyone see me?”
Your broken voice is a whisper in a stadium of screams
Your voice is strange. Your face is dumb. Your mind is a balloon, helium up to the ceiling.
“I have to get out of here…suffocating, I feel toxic, lost. Where’s the fucking door?”
“WHERE’S THE FUCKING DOOR?”



Bio: Ethan O’Nan is a trans man living in North Carolina, he has a wife and 2 children. Ethan only dabbles in writing these days. His whole life has led to the last few years fully understanding what to do to make him feel on the outside like he has always been on the inside. 
The older brother of EIC David L 
O’Nan, Ethan is a business owner along with his wife Kristi. Ethan enjoys 80’s music, art, crafting, making soap, & comedy.