"The Sacrifice" by Max Ureña

VOICEMAIL POEMS

When I came into this world they said Welcome to the holy land The world is in your palm Just as you fit into your mother's Gave me a name which slid off tongues In a way too harsh for the American voice and Too soft for the Dominican palate I grew up longing for the day where My name never sounded like an apology Uncommonly Christian When I introduced myself to my theology course last year My professor gave me a look and said "Ah, that must be why you're here" My given name can translate to "sacrifice" and Coming out as trans has definitely felt that way as I Give away favorite clothes because dysphoria no longer allows them as I Endure the bite of a hypodermic needle every other week as I Still push down the discomfort of being a "daughter", "sister", "aunt" when I am just a person and I can feel the knife being twisted While my veins run cold The world stops as I Smile while they hug me and Greet the ghost of who I used to be They unmask me to my friends They sacrifice me and Making a home out of this flesh prison means Sacrificing my home and Your love and The comfort in between our silences It means Saying goodbye to you, to me, To us and our simplicities But I have long been ready to sweep this ash and Rise from the dead Hello, My name is Max and The only thing I'm sacrificing today is Fear --------------------------------------- SUPPORT US ON PATREON: http://patreon.com/voicemailpoems http://voicemailpoems.org/guidelines http://facebook.com/voicemailpoems http://twitter.com/voicemailpoems http://voicemailpoems.org/thepodcast