A man chooses death in Belgium *
Something went wrong with the surgeries, the article said
“Botched,” I believe is the word that was used
Born a woman, the man transforming felt like a monster
His former breasts ragged remnants, and his manhood
A thing of reprehensible sight.
He decided the agony had no right to claim him;
He chose euthanasia.
His mother commented that she was not sorry for the death,
“She” had never been a wanted child.
Where was mercy lurking, dubious angel
That his only dignity lay in a needle’s fine point
The fear that he was a beast nobody wanted
Too much for one man, too much for one life.
Some would say he needed a better God
When a better doctor would have sufficed.
Transition is the stuff of self knowledge, and grace
Yet it’s looked upon by some as savagery, sin
May the one with no misgivings throw the first stone
And may the two-spirit, the man/woman, the child of
The Universe discover what Rilke meant when he said,
“for the god wants to know himself in you.”
* See related article in the Huffington Post, 10/08/2013
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JULIE FINCH attended the University of Texas at Austin where she received a B.S. in communications and a minor in English. After many years as an advertising copywriter, Julie now works in staffing, and writes every chance she gets.
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