Dandara dos Santos, a transgender woman,
Lived in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Although we know very little about her,
The fate that befell her should make you feel ill.

The woman, forty-two years old,
Was dragged from her home by a cruel group of thugs
Out into the street of the town
Where she met with kicks and slugs.

The vicious and violent attackers beat her--
Also using a plank of wood--
While she pleaded and begged for her life
On the cobblestone street of the neighborhood.

They dumped her into a filthy wheelbarrow
And took her to an alley where shortly thereafter
Dandara died from repeated beatings
Amid cold-blooded taunts and laughter.

What is wrong with humanity
That humans can be so animalistic?
Two hundred ninety-five transgender people
Were murdered last year°--an ugly statistic.

Dandara, most of us didn't know you,
And yet we know that you by far
Outvalue the hateful brutes that killed you.
Rest in peace, wherever you are.

- by Bob B (3-8-17)

°From Oct 1, 2015 to Sep 1, 2016, worldwide