Trans Body Benediction
Poetry by Keith Aron of Big Blue Sky Dragonfly
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I can’t help but marvel at the innate wisdom and peace expressed in Keith Aron’s poem “Trans Body Benediction”. Queer bodies have so often been portrayed as a source of betrayal and offense that it is hard for many of us to throw off that sense of shame and estrangement.
Thank you for sharing, Keith! We need many more such benedictions in our great work to honor and celebrate our bodies, identities and lives.
Trans Body Benediction
by
ofThis body loves me
and there is nothing
I can do about it.
Trust me, I tried
a thousand times,
in as many ways,
to abuse it into
hating me, to engage my
malevolence with reciprocity,
to reject me as completely
as I rejected it.
But still, it holds me steady,
remaining my staunchest ally.
It is patient and kind;
it does not envy
or boast;
it is neither arrogant nor rude;
it does not insist on
its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at [my]
wrongdoing, but it
rejoices at the truth, which
I finally understand to be
that this trans body
is not an anomaly,
not a tragedy, but
the confluence
of beauty.
Verily.
Keith Aron (he/they) is a trans and queer life coach and writer doing their thing on Nipmuc, Pocumtuck and Nonotuck lands (aka Western Massachusetts). Nearsighted his whole life, he marvels at the 20/20 vision of hindsight and the crisp lines edging life’s absurdities. They can be found at www.keitharon.com and https://substack.com/@keitharon.
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Thank you, Troy. And Keith for the poem, so beautiful, that's love.
Beautiful, moving poem. Glad to read it here this morning.