Tonight, Auckland Pride Festival poetry reading night All the Words of the Rainbow is being held as part of the Alternative Bindings line-up. Diane Sparkes is planning to share her poem 'Hate' there. It was written after she was bullied, harassed and verbally assaulted by a young man who decided she was a ‘transvestite’. Diane sat down in tears to record on paper the trauma she had experienced. This poem was the result, writing a poem was something she had never done in all her 72 years of life, surprising even herself. Diane is a transgender woman, and rights advocate, who now, two years on, feels brave enough to share her words. Fucking transvestite he said Frothing hatred at me So wrong was my reply I am woman It did not matter to him I was the target for all Who are Trans This is his thinking, truth matters not The pain he creates means nothing His hatred must prevail Hatred must extend Violence the aim For this will make in his eyes Him into a man His thoughts the better of him gets Something inside he cannot let go What more pain can I give! Trauma terror and stress he thinks In the darkness he will act For a man he is not yet His target he will not face He will attack and run away Like a thief in the night He throws stones and smashes His belief’s justify his act’s There can be no defence He hides unable to be The man he so desperately desires An accomplice he seeks Not a man but a mere boy Someone immature and easily led It matters not to him His hatred must expand Now he is two His strength and power all the greater In his mind Not yet truly a man He ignores consequence He gets caught But still he proudly states His hatred for me And everyone like me He admits he is homophobic Like it is a worthy value He is still wrong He is Transphobic as well And the difference he knows not Sadly He has not learnt how to be a real man His hatred remains strong. Still he knows not the real me! Footnote: Diane says the end result, though, was almost magical. “The young man was arrested and taken to court to answer for his actions, but on one occasion while at the court which he attended at least four times, he turned to me as we were leaving, came up close gave me a hug and told me he was so very sorry. A bit scary at first but so rewarding in restoring my opinion of who I believed he really was at heart – a silly boy. This goes to show the importance of looking further beyond the immediate. However none of that negated the feeling of desperation at the time.” All the Words of the Rainbow 6.00pm to 7.30pm Leys Institute Library, 20 St Marys Road, Ponsonby Free. Turn up by 6pm Diane Sparkes - 9th February 2015