The Days On Which Trans Women (I) win by Zuggie Tate

When the sun greets well-slept eyelids          when the nail doesn’t break             when the voice

doesn’t crack,        when the bus grandmother says hello sweetness          when she pulls a honeycomb

smile from this hive of a mouth           when the door is held       when her favorite flowers bloom         

when the night sky begins to twinkle        when her stars aline     When she makes it home          When

she makes it home        When she finally makes it home when the key doesn’t break          

when home is a place to be run to          when house is sanctuary               when she only has a bucket

to piss in           when her last two cents is the only money she got         when the rain comes       

when the heavens open up         when it pours out a blessing       when every tear evaporates

into rainbows               when every promise is kept        when every pronoun is correct

every boundary respected          when she holds herself at night   when the heat holds her

back     when moon is her only companion         when tv shows are the only family she got 

when her mother finally accepts her daughter                 when the bough eventually does break and

the baby does fall,

When she can’t keep herself from falling apart               when she starts to take her  meds          

when they start to work      when shame is all drank         when every sorrow swallowed

when a mirror becomes a dearest friend             when the reflection says I love you back

When the whole world comes around to see what she’s seen all along

When the universe arches its back and corrects itself

When each breath is only for her to control

She wins, alive again in a world that barely noticed

 the victories but wouldn’t be the same if ever she had lost

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ZUGGIE TATE is a poet and spoken word artist with a BA in Sociology from Case Western Reserve University. Her work is rooted in her intersectional identity as a Black, Trans, Larger-Bodied, Poverty-Born Woman living with invisible disabilities. Through her poetry, Zuggie creates spaces where Black Trans Women feel affirmed while inviting broader audiences into empathy, re-education, and acceptance.

Zuggie’s work has appeared in Black Midwest Anthology, Wasteland Review, Exposed Bone Lit Mag, and Verum Literary Press. She is the recipient of Margie Hope’s 2023 Living Heritage Award for her advocacy and poetry addressing Trans issues. A fellow at Twelve Literary Arts, Assembly of the Arts, and The Watering Hole, she has also participated in workshops hosted by Torch Literary Arts, Flash in the Pan!, and Deathrattle Press. In 2023, she was voted Cleveland Scene’s No. 2 Poet and has performed at venues such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Public Theatre, and Heights Arts. She has also been invited to be a panelist at Literary Cleveland’s 2024 Inkubator Conference. She is also a 2025 Cleveland Arts Prize’s Verge Fellow and a 2025 Literary Cleveland Amplify Fellow.

Currently, Zuggie is working on her debut poetry collection, Abomination Pink. She aspires to publish her first book, attend more artist residencies, and pursue an MFA in Creative Writing, continuing her mission to create transformative art that uplifts the Black Trans Woman experience.

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