Unsung Heroes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

March 31st is International Trangender Day of Visibility.

Transgender men and women are often society’s forgotten heroes. I once knew one quite well (she died some years ago) and had every admiration for her; she inspired my character, Jackie, in my novel Sacrilege, [Book 2 of my Laurence Fisher trilogy, Blasphemy-Sacrilege-Redemption.]

I read this poem among others on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square back in July 14th 2009 (see link below) as my contribution to sculptor Antony Gormley’s One & Other ‘living sculpture’ project. It was both sad and heart-warming to receive emails from transsexuals worldwide who had incredibly inspiring stories to tell and were pleased I had helped raise Transgender Awareness a notch higher by reading it to a global audience. [I should add that I also received emails criticising me for standing up for transgender people, but I get them for supporting my fellow gay men and women too so dare say it’s par for the course for anyone whose concerns for the society in which he or she lives extend beyond those in whom they have a special &/or vested interest.]

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20100223121732/oneandother.co.uk/participants/Roger_T [For now, at least, this link needs the latest Adobe Flash Player  and works best in Firefox; the archives website cannot run Flash but changes scheduled for later this year may well mean the link will open without it. Ignore any error message and give it a minute or so to start up. The video lasts an hour. ] RT 3/18

This poem has appeared on the blogs before, but not for a very long time; it is repeated today especially for ‘Shirley’ who has been in touch to ask that I have more to say about transgender people on my blogs. Well, I’m sorry if you feel I neglect transgender men and women Shirley. I do my best to be as all-embracing as I can in my poems and comments, I can’t expect to please everyone.

UNSUNG HEROES

Girl meets Boy in the same body,
demands what shall we do…
pretend everything is hunky dory
or come true?

Girl pleads with Boy for priority
though she may not look the part;
Boy agrees, since it’s a certainty
he has her heart

Boy takes on the world for her sake,
appealing to truth and justice;
Girl but seeking her peace to make
with its prejudice

Boy meets Girl in the same body
after a transformation,
glad to have done right by history
and salvation

Girl thanks Boy for his selflessness
and courage under enemy fire,
leaving her free to seek a happiness
we all aspire

If the world’s humanity a democracy
worth dying for to win…
dare a sometime prison of the body
but let freedom in?

Among centuries of unsung heroes,
our transgender brothers and sisters

[From: On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010]