Mary Mayer Shapiro

BORN DIFFERENT 

What makes a male characterlike  

What makes a female characterlike 

Females can feel more 

Masculine 

Males can feel more 

Feminine 

Mind not in right body 

Comes naturally 

More comfortable 

True self 

Do not think 

About it 

More natural 

True self 

Felt from the beginning 

As a young child 

Born into a wrong body 

Born different 

Who to say what 

Is right or wrong 

Who is to judge 

The little fertile egg 

With all DNA 

Inherited from 

Mother and father 

By chance 

No choice  

Accept the difference 

In me 

It is what makes the person 

Who you are 

No need for judgement 

Cracks, jokes 

Afraid you cannot cope 

Born in the wrong body 

Just making it right 

Why label me 

Transgender 

ANGRY EARTH 

Take care of me 

Please 

Do not poison my soil 

Drill into my crust 

Causing tremors 

Shakes, eruptions 

Turmoil 

Disruptions of turbulences 

In oceans, seas 

Provoking waves 

Invading the land 

Hurricanes, downpours 

Disorder  

Throughout the earth 

Landslides 

Volcanic explosions 

Glacier liquefying 

Factories, autos, fires 

Pollution in the air 

Earthquakes 

Cracking land 

Falling buildings 

Bridges dismantle  

People trapped  

Please take care 

Of me 

Or 

Father time will 

Do us in 

DEAD END STREET

Street you grew

up on

Family

Not by blood

Everyone looked

Out for each other

Summer parties

All bringing a dish

Barbecues

Kids were like

Cousins

Many grandmas

Aunts and uncles

Time passes

Grow up. move on

Come back

Grandparents move

To nursing homes

Or died

Parents retired or

Go South

Cousins, grew up

Moved, jobs

Families

Only strangers 

Remain

Street you grew up

Houses, lawn

Stationary

All that was left

Just

Memories that

Once was

Strangers, not

Family

Houses, not

Homes

Not by choice

All is changed

There is no

Going back