July 21, 2006.
A date
Forever etched
Into my memory.
As if
Done by
A laser.
By mistake
And pure chance.
I enter
The support group meeting
For trans-men
At the 519*.
A decision
That forever
Changed my life.
As George Harold
And Alex**
Accepted me
Into their meeting.
Won't bore you
With details
Of what
Was spoken.
Except
My soul was
Laid bare
Before them.
As tears
Of anger
Of anger
And shame
Flowed down my face
Like the Mississippi River
During flood season.
Releasing
The septic toxins
From my mom's
Caustic rejection of me.
For the first time
I shared this
To total strangers
With frank openness.
As I found myself
Neither judged
Nor pitied.
But
Accepted
As a person
Of value.
Therisa © 2017
Author's note: Without the help of these three men, I wouldn't be here, today, to share my experiences of that fateful night. I entered their meeting, as a stranger and left, as friends, whose kindness was the first step, I took, in the healing of myself and uniting it, with my body, which had been detached, from birth.
For I stood, on the brink, of another suicide attempt, for that month, making it, my 3rd and possibly, the final attempt, to take my life. And yes, I do have, a very long history, for this.
*The 519, is the name of the community centre, in the local area, and for the LGBT+ community, in Toronto, which offers programs that serve Toronto and surrounding communities, in the Greater Toronto Area. It's located at 519 Church Street, in the heart of Toronto's Gay Village. Hence, the name.
The trans-men meet every 1st and 3rd Friday of every month, and trans-women meet every 2nd and 4th Friday, except for December, when the meetings are suspended for the holidays. A Christmas dinner is held, that invites all members of the trans community and their allies, to attend.
**Not their real names, as I value their rights to privacy, so am using an alias, for them.
