Kash Baloch — Poetry on Identity, Love, and Survival

In Thebes, the origin story of Atum the Creator involved Earth and sky's division into Seth & Nephthys, a third gender; both non-binary, by nature.   In Greek and Roman antiquity,  there ruled a Goddess named Cybele,  whose followers transitioned, famously, from male into females. Ugandans, once upon a time, raged against restrictive gender norms, as priests and Teso tribesmen preferred prints made for the women in their homes Adoration filled the eagle-eyed Indigenous tribes in pre-colonial times, as they celebrated sacred two-spirits who  enhanced their lives. Hijras have existed, in India, for as long as the festival of lights,  but it wasn't until this century that they earned economic rights.  When Joyita Mondal was elected India's first transgender judge, bangles clinked in thunderous applause. Determined to aid her sisters, she abolished trans-exclusionary laws. Throughout the his and hers-tory of the world to date,...

It must take incredible resolve to stay focused at the circus.  For some, chaos is the buzz and pestering of a simple fly.  It is a feat to stay afloat despite being deprived of a lifeboat. With the self-restraint of saints, equipped with minimal complaint.  How does one bite their tongue through lifelong chronic pain, as their loved ones bellow over broken nails and migraines. This kind of bravery seemed made for comic books and fairy tales; epics based on Viking Gods, or stories about sailors and sperm whales. Until that unforgettable day not too long ago, when I rubbed my eyes, in disbelief, as I watched my own sister effortlessly complete superhuman deeds. There is nothing quite as loud as the silence that accompanies the truth; it echoes inside of us, before it blares like trumpets in a padded room and then blows off the roof. I spent a lifetime believing confidence belonged to those who dared to shout.  Mistaken, now, as I admit my sister's silen...