“The Little Girl Inside Me” A Poem on Self-Discovery and Acceptance

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Best-For:

Gender nonconforming individuals navigating gender identity or transitions, people engaged in inner-child healing, and readers of contemporary confessional poetry who value lgbtq+ narratives on self-awareness and personal evolution.

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The-Vault:

• The-Top-Shelf: A metaphor for reaching adulthood and the high vantage point of self-actualization.
• The-Key: Representing the name and identity that finally fits the lock of the soul.
• The-Equation: The mathematical necessity of adding my true name, Axton, to find the correct sum of self.
• Split-in-Two: The internal fracture caused by denying one’s true nature to satisfy societal expectations.
• A-Real-Boy: A heavy literary and personal nod to the finality and truth of my transgender identity.

I wrote this piece as a direct bridge between the past and the present. It serves as a vulnerable dialogue with my younger self, Arielle. This poem takes a swing at acknowledging the weight of the lessons learned while navigating the road to becoming Axton.

It is about the clarity that comes with self-awareness and the profound shift of finally standing in my own truth. It is an exploration of identity and the liberation found when the equation of “I” finally adds up.

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“The Little Girl Inside Me”

An Original Poem by: Axton N.O. Mithcell

Dear younger self, you grew up enough to reach the top-shelf. 

The road there was laden with hard lessons,
you will wish you got at least one more try at a few,

or more.

To settle the score. 

Kiss mom before and after school, 
the day will come she’s no longer there, physically.

You will miss the tedious “annoying” things she did out of love.

Arielle don’t worry about making guys you don’t have interest in

grow fond of you…

This will save you a mess or two. 

You don’t know who you are, don’t go wondering too far,
down the road of life without any sense ….

self-awareness is needed for 
you see the other side of me.

Arielle, the realization that comes with, Axton will fit like a key. 

It’s quite humorous, that’s not a name we are used to anymore. When you look inside you
at the real me…

you will understand.
What’s understood doesn’t need explanation. 

Love yourself enough to add Axton to the equation 

Will be the path to finding your true self. 

You will really know what life is about

No one could love you before you knew the real you 
Split in two denying the fact, you are you. 

Gets us nowhere.
Either way you are 
still “a real boy” 
now and forever. 

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Poets-Note:

Writing this was an act of reflection on my personal experiences as well as an act of rebellion against a system that says people like me do not exist. For a long time, I viewed my younger self and my current self as two separate entities, but they are inexplicably linked.

By addressing the girl I used to be, I am not erasing her; I am thanking her for surviving long enough to reach the top shelf and see him. This poem is the moment the “split” ends and the unity begins.

If there is one thing I hope you take away from this, it is that self-awareness is the key to every locked door on your road to figuring out yourself. You cannot truly be loved by others until you stop denying the person staring back at you in the mirror.

Transitioning is not just about the destination; it is about having the courage to tell your younger self that it is okay to let go of the names and roles that no longer serve the soul.

I want to mention that I included an actual picture of me at approx. 5 to 6-years-old to accompany the poem. “The Little Girl Inside Me” is an original reflection on life from a 33-year-old transgender man, Axton N.O. Mitchell.

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🖤 Help me see it through your eyes.
What would you refine or change?
Feedback?

Comments, Questions, Concerns?

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