Jan 2020
The choice made of identity
one or the other to fit in
is made when survival asks
individuals to protect their ranks
the paths opened have their risks
with a threat at dagger’s edge
to sanity or life’s continuance
neither salves the normative
there’s no attempt to trick the group
instead the ruse is hoped adequate
to shield the self from the diatribes
prompted by ignorance of the tribe
identity is clearly known
in the heart of the one
while safety asks for compromise
to flaunt or hide against the knife.
© 2020. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20200101.
one or the other to fit in
is made when survival asks
individuals to protect their ranks
the paths opened have their risks
with a threat at dagger’s edge
to sanity or life’s continuance
neither salves the normative
there’s no attempt to trick the group
instead the ruse is hoped adequate
to shield the self from the diatribes
prompted by ignorance of the tribe
identity is clearly known
in the heart of the one
while safety asks for compromise
to flaunt or hide against the knife.
© 2020. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20200101.
The poem “The Choice” was prompted by a YouTube video about the choices presented to many transgender people. They can hide or they can attempt to stealth. Neither is a malicious choice meant to antagonize society. They are instead methods of survival in the face of a normative that denies rights that most assumed to be available to all.
(54/M/Pickens SC)
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