Trans and queer and nonbinary kids, little or big:
this book is for you. You are never alone.
Every birthday can be a celebration.
Because the world wants you.
Because
everyone who loves you and everyone who will love you
wants you
to be you,
to grow, to live,
to find
everyone who loves you and will love you
so we can all
smile and laugh and sing together.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Because
with everyone you love and will love
you can feel like your body is made of feathers
or flowers all opening at once,
laughing and laughing with everyone laughing
like there’s nothing left for anyone on Earth to cry about.
Because your joy heals this world.
Every single day.
And you can get lost in this party
where all your friends are everywhere
just waiting to be found.
On every page, again and again.
People who love you so much.
Exactly as you are.
Happy birthday!
We give this world to you.
This party to you.
And if there is a part of you that hurts,
it belongs
with everyone you love who will love you.
Because joy will find you.
If you can dream
you can wake up
and look for joy
and see us all around you,
maybe near, maybe far,
everyone you will love who loves you.
Everyone we love together.
Pushing you forward like a giant wave,
towards another night to dream or stay up late, so fun,
towards all the friends you ever imagined,
towards delicious cake
and the warmest times.
And when you need a little quiet
place to remember
where you came from,
with thanks
for all that came before you,
you can know your friends are standing
just outside the room,
happy together.
And then, you can let them in again.
Happy Birthday!
Whenever you sing,
you might hear us singing along.
Even when you feel alone.
Thank you for having a birthday.
Now, rest.
Take your time
to dream.
Tomorrow, we will be waiting for you,
with all the love in the whole world.
Because people like us
have existed since
forever.
We will always exist, and we
will always hold
a space for you.
There is no rush.
You have all the time in the world.
And we
love you.
Rainie Oet is a trans woman who writes fiction and poetry for adults and young readers. She is the author of the middle grade novel-in-verse Glitch Girl! (Kokila), as well as the picture books Robin’s Worlds and the forthcoming Monster Seek (Astra). She received her MFA in Poetry from Syracuse University, where she was awarded the Shirley Jackson Prize in Fiction. Visit rainieoet.com.