Beyond the Binary

A woman shimmies into a dress

that she wishes was a suit and tie.

A man goes to work today

In a suit and tie

But he wants velvet and lace.

A woman goes to her sewing machine

To mend his tearing seams

while she smokes her cigar.

But she wants the sharp lines of his face

on hers.

A man fingers her taffeta skirts

and silken shawl and thinks,

should this be me?

They are the same experience,

the same person at the same time

in one body.

He is the daughter they expected,

and the son they did not,

yet neither and all.