Against the rising tide!

Born in a bodily prison Hated without reason Living on a mission To love with full conviction This body is my affliction Hence I make that decision To enter this transition And bring my soul to living As I emerge from my cocoon Like a bird freed from its cage I hear the storms surrounding me Society is raging Their whispers turn to murmurs And their murmurs turn to shouting The pupa is a butterfly But they surround it, doubting. They call me an imposter And the waters rise in judgment Never have I felt so complete Though I’ve been left abandoned. Their clenched fists pound my naked skin They pound me like a drumbeat Blow after blow, in this downpour They cannot hear my heart beat The cruelty and rising tide So many have been shattered Their only crime, to be themselves For which they’re killed and battered What is the crime in being myself? That death should be my sentence I only live to show my love And long for your acceptance I am Trans…and against the tide, Of disapproval in their eyes Still I rise…. Affirming truth… I shall not choose, To live a lie By Sam G Ndlovu. Zimbabwe