Squeak and Venus (January 18, 2010)

Your presence is

Never far from me.

No matter

Where I am

Standing guard

Over my soul.

Displaying patience

Wish i had with myself

Teaching life lessons

Am struggling to understand.

Not because

Of their complexity

Rather their simplicity.

I can be

Both strong and vulnerable

At the same time.

Without being

A lesser person. 

Therisa © 2010 and 2018

For The Love Of Money (January 7, 2019)

Since 2016

Canadians have debated

Definition of gender.

As legislation

Worked its slow way

Through Parliament Hill.

Before Royal Assent

Making it

Canadian law.

Providing a transperson

With legal protection

For gender expression

And gender identity.

Gays and lesbians have

For sexual orientation

Under Canada's Human Rights Act

And criminal code.

The seventh

And successful attempt

Passing similar legislation

Through Canada's parliament.

Ironically

Strongest opposition came

From feminist groups

And Conservative Senators

To proposed changes.

Talk about

Strange bedfellows

In these two opposing ends

Of the political spectrum.

As if

Only ciswomen

Are the only victims

Of abuse and discrimination

In Canada.

Sadly

Albertan legislation

Since repealed

Meant to help

The transcommunity

Been abused.

By a cismale driver

Seeking lower rates

As renewing his insurance

After a car accident.

Stating

He had no intention

Of hurting transcommunity

With his false declaration

Being a transwoman.

Or ever

Beginning the process

Of transitioning.

Therisa © 2019

Author's note: The following links provide background information, for the above poem.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/transgender-rights-bill-senate-1.4163823

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/transgender-rights-bill-female-born-spaces-1.4110634

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-trans-licence-change-female-1.4763834

Sorry, it took so long to write this, been struggling to find the right words, to finish this, and battling depression.

A Fool's Heart (January 7, 2019)

In my mind

James is playing

Getting Away With It

(All Messed Up).

As I sit

On my bed

Trying to

Figure out.

Where did I make

That wrong turn

On the freeway

Called life.

Could've sworn

Overhead sign said

Next turn right

For true happiness.

As Princess Di’s

Faerie tale romance

Crumbles to dust

Before a watching world.

No Princess Charming

Is standing

With her magical kiss

At the bedside.

To heal the heartaches

Or bandage the wounds

Affecting our souls

By love gone wrong.

In this impossible dream

We weave around our souls

Searching for everlasting love

Between two people.

As Princess Di’s

Faerie tale romance

Crumbles to dust

Before a watching world.

Taking away my heart

Some cheap trinket

To be discarded

At your whimsical pleasure.

Not caring

About my pain

Or me

You f--king bitch.

In stealing

My hopes and dreams

I shared with you

For the future.

As Princess Di’s

Faerie tale romance

Crumbles to dust

Before a watching world.

Therisa © 2019

Author’s note: I blame James for this lyrical poem/pop song creation.

Editing Process (January 7, 2018)

I hear screams

Of “bleeping murderer"

Taunting me.

In removing

Those stillborn poems

That no longer speak

Or resonate.

Taking up space

As I search

For those lost poems

Seeking closure.

You think

I want to

Do this?

Destroying a sliver

Of my soul

In such a careless

Casual manner.

Marking me

A hideous killer

Deserving to be tarred

And feathered.

As angry shouts

Have accused me

Of being.

Therisa © 2019

Author’s note: Over the past month, I have removed about 20 partial poems, from my
writing file that no longer speak to me, in the need to write, or are long stale to my muse.

Breaking The Silence (January 3, 2019)

“You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one.”

John Lennon, Imagine (1971)

Inside my mind

These words flow

In sadness.

As hate

And intolerance grows

With every passing moment

I breathe.

Where being different

Is a curse

Punishable by physical attacks

And slurs.

Where truth

Has become a

Weaponized lie.

Knowing no boundaries

Spreading its message

To an eagerly awaiting

Hateful audience.

Never mind

You're the minority

By thinking this way

To others.

You can't silence

My righteous voice

Any more.

Therisa © 2019

Author’s note: Earlier today, I found this article, in my Google News, how American hate
based politics of the alt-right, is becoming Canada's new norm.

https://nowtoronto.com/news/toronto-politics-kristyn-wong-tam-donald-trump-alt-right/

Beyond The Surface (January 2, 2019)

Do we ever know

If this face before us

Is the reflective image

Staring back?

So many years

Obsessively vision driven

Blinded by this quest

Fitting society’s rigid

Gender definition.

How one dress

And present themself

To the wider world

Expressing gender.

Where one's individuality

And nonconformity

Only grudgingly accepted

Within narrow parameters

That doesn't cause ambiguity.

As if

Dissension is

Mortally wrong

To voice.

Of a worldview

Limited to black and white

Never to grays.

For this

Public shaming/shunning

Are the awards

Handed out.

Often done

Without realizing

The destructive damage

Their impact has.

Therisa © 2019

Author’s note: I had written the first 3 stanzas of this poem, when I came across this op-ed
piece, in The Guardian for January 2, 2019:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/02/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-woman-it-is-not-just-about-femininity?CMP=share_btn_link

Personally, I can relate to what Allison Gallagher is writing about, as I had a similar
discussion with a former tenant of my apartment building, Lori (butch lesbian), who
has since died.

Sigh.

No Saltshaker Needed, We're Vegans (January 1, 2019)

Quick internet search

For vegan recipes

To cook.

So disappointed

Extreme sodium levels

Awaiting heart disease occurrence

No thanks.

No health benefits

In changing diet

I will never see

Health advantage.

We're told

Need to reduce

Sodium intake.

Avoiding restaurant meals

Like the plague

Not that I eat

At McDonald's.

But still

Process food industry

Is ever so slowly

Killing us.

Protesting against reforms

Lowering sodium levels

In foods.

Therisa © 2019

Author’s note: During an internet search for vegan recipes for my new Instant Pot cooker, I found many of them that included nutritional breakdown, had extremely high levels of sodium with 50% or higher, for daily suggested intake. Personally, I refuse to use these recipes, until I can figure out, how to reduce the sodium levels to more acceptable levels.

Sigh.

This poem is in a new form invented by a person, who is close to me and wishes to remain private. She calls the form 'arch', in which the 4th stanza is – as she says – 'much like the keystone is for an arch, holding both sides together'.

The poem is 7 stanzas long, with 69 words. Stanzas break down as follows:

1st stanza: 3 words/3 words/2 words

2nd stanza: 2 words/3 words/4 words/2 words

3rd stanza: 3 words/3 words/4 words/2 words

4th stanza: 2 words/3 words/2 words

5th stanza: 3 words/3 words/4 words/2 words

6th stanza: 2 words/3 words/4 words/2 words

7th stanza:: 3 words/3 words/2 words