Subscriber writes: poem on struggles of the transgender community

Shivani Dhama’s poem talks about the flawed notions and perceptions society has about transgenders.

By
Shivani Dhama
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Representational photo | Flickr

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POETRY- “Grit & Grace”

A brief about the poetry- It is dedicated to the struggles of the transgender community, it talks about the flawed notions and perceptions society has about them, and most importantly it celebrates their resilience and patience with which they accomplish many feats.

If my very birth brings dilemma on your face,

You get all perplexed, with each breath you take,

And you start to wonder, “when the world questions me, how much is it that I can take?”,

To quell your fears, to quench your curiosity,

“Just Look at me once” for you gave birth to the “grit and grace”

 

Alas! Not again!  Now, what should I do?

This dilemma of yours follows me in my teenage too!

What I should wear, how I should be become your daily worry,

Huh! Don’t you ever notice that just like you do, I too love egg and curry,

 

But you don’t seem to back down, you don’t give up

Shhhh!  You whisper to the other, “Is it a HIM or HER”?

 And just when you thought that I would give in, I choose to look the other way

 To your utter surprise, like a phoenix I rise “with a shine on my face”,

Only if you saw me with a heart full of love, could you really see – I AM the grit and grace!

 

Have we ever pondered that there is a realm beyond duality,

Something personal is my sense of being and sexuality.

Propounded by great philosophies, that we all are one,

Where we love each other and fear none!

 

Let us start afresh, I know you are tired too!

With mind full of judgements and heart of hatred, could we ever sail through?

So, I take the first step to bridge gap between you and me!

I bless you with -the eyes of Rumi, for you could see “I am the soul that lives within”

Take a leap of faith and bridge the divide further

For I see the mother and father in you, who yearn to nurture

And that you are ready to know me beyond my body, beyond my face

For you witnessed how, In the likes of Lakshmi, Kalki , Prithika, I reside as the “GRIT & GRACE”

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