September Storms (September 3, 2019)

You don't understand

Why I'm so political

In expressing myself.

Simple answer.

Am fighting

For my human rights

And personal survival.

Western society has

Systematically discriminated

On religious/moral grounds.

Regardless

What you think

Of my personal entitlement.

Discrimination - on a daily basis

Very real fact of life.

Having been threatened

Verbally physically

And emotionally

With violence.

Recently this summer

Verbal threats

Of physical violence.

Walking to

Local supermarket

For groceries.

Within Canada's

Medical community

Transphobia is

Alive and kicking.

How they treat us

As patients

(Or don't treat us.)

LGBTQ+ only clinics 

Been created

In some Canadian cities

Like Toronto.

Else educating doctors

On medications

Needed for transitioning.

Having been poisoned

By a potassium overdose

From my diabetic

And HRT medication.

Threatening

Long term health

Of my kidneys.

Before you think

I'm exaggerating things

Only look southwards

To the US.

Rapid deterioration

Of trans' protections/rights

At the state/federal level.

Question of time

Before this hate

Takes Canadian root.

Remember

No one thought

Hitler would gain

Outright control

Of Weimar Germany

In 1933.

Therisa © 2019

Untitled (January 17, 2018)

I want to

Let these memories go

Liberating myself

From this haunting darkness

On my soul.

As if

My abusive experience

Are the wrong favour

Of the month.

Just because

I wasn't sexually touched

Or raped

With a penile object

By my abusers.

Although

Numerous times

I have been kicked

Deliberately

In the groin area.

With serious intent

To maim me

In a sexual manner

As they view me

A homosexual male.

Never mind

Some feminists view

My abuse

As a male on male

Crime.

And not

A male on female

Crime.

Thus

They discount me

As another whining male

Seeking attention.

Over battered

And seriously injured women

Attacked by men.

Due to the reality

Of the birth defect

Between my legs

They hold over

All transwomen.

Regardless

Of our status

Pre or post-op.

Bleep you

Too

B*tch.

Therisa © 2018

Author's note: Just venting an ugly truth that some people, in the system, don't want to admit its existence.

Just The Usual (June 20, 2016)

Why

The surprise?

When

I express

The night of ignorance

That covers

The medical community.

With their death of logic

Towards

A trans-person. 

Therisa © 2016

Author's note: The following link list some of the barriers that's faced, by the trans-community.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/transgender-health-lancet-study-medical-care-1.3641030

Myself, I have had to deal with transphobic psychiatrist, when I was psychologically assessed, for Ontario Disable Support Program (ODSP), in 2007, and endure misogynistic comments, from my own physician, concern estrogen and a bout of depression, in the past 5 years.

Not Begging. Just Explaining (June 17, 2016)

Why are people

So surprised

When they heard

About the transitioning costs

The trans-community faces.

Even

The limited financial support

Only happens

Due to court challenges

After provinces tried

And failed

To delist SRS coverage,

Never mind

The long waiting lists

That grow

With each passing month

For us.

Hoping

We find other means

To cover
Our basic surgeries.

As the provinces

And territorial governments

Rubbing their hands

In financial glee.

At the mere thought

Of removing us

From their welfare rolls

(Either

General welfare

Or disability support programs.)

For any money.

Whether

Generated by

Crowd sourcing

Inheritance

Or a gift.

It's counted

As income

We have available

To support ourselves.

Thus

Clawed back

From our monthly cheques.

The little fuckers.

Never mind

Being on disability

My monthly support cheque

Is half of the income level

Of the Canadian

Poverty line

For a single person.

And that's

With a special allowance

For being diabetic.

Which is

More than 10%

Of the base amount

I receive

Monthly.

Do you

Still think

It's a passing fad

For me?

Given

The financial mountain

I have to climb

Without societal support

Or understanding.

Therisa © 2016

Author note: Many people may not realize, but, if a person, is receiving social assistance, in Canada, they're allowed, a limited amount (determined by their province/territory that they live in), in their bank accounts, before, this is clawed back, too, out of their support cheque. Under Ontario Disability Support Program, I'm allowed to have $6 000, before I am penalized. Never mind, the more money, I can save up, in a bank account, will raise my monthly rent and remove/or limit my rent subsidiary, I get. Never mind, most trans-Canadians live below the poverty line, in Canada, which no one speaks out on.

 A twisted sense of logic, if you ask me.

Below, is a link, that will explain the further hurdles that trans-Canadians face, as part of our transitioning expenses:

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/insight/the-surprising-costs-of-transitioning-can-put-some-transgender-people-in-danger-202146371.html

Upon The Warpath (April 16, 2016)

Never asked

To become

A rebel.

Life

Forced me.

Through

Happenchance

And genetics.

No matter

How I try

To run away.

Am brought back

Kicking and screaming.

By a society

That systematically

Discriminates

Against those

Who are different.

A fact

I learn

At an early age.

In being failed

By a grade one teacher

For having

Learning disabilities.

Or

The sad fact

Of having to fight

Just to get

The proper treatment

For my various

Mental illnesses.

In a system

Doctor knows best

Always.

Never mind

I came out

As a trans-lesbian

To a transphobic parent.

Learning

A whole new lesson

What parental love

Really means.

Or

The transphobic nature

Of the various services

One uses

On a daily basis.

From healthcare

Food banks

To homeless shelters.

A constant reminder

Of the war

I must wage

For equality

And compassion.

Therisa © 2016

Author's note: Inspired, by Sherry Blue Sky's comment, on my poem, No Trannies Allowed. Only wished, my war had ended, before I picked up my weapons, to fight it.

When Darkness Breeds (April 12, 2016)

Here

I stand

As a witness

To the systemic discrimination

That plagues

Canada's Aboriginal people.

Even though

I want to turn away

As my own dark memories

Come to the forth.

In having

Your very soul

Stripped away

And told:

"You're worthless".

Over and over

Again.

To the point

You start believing it

As the light is

Snuffed out.

And hope is

Another 4 letter word

To curse you.

Therisa © 2016

Author's note: I wrote this, this morning, on my way, upon the streetcar, to visit the lab, to have my quarterly blood work to check my A1C.