Hijra

Hijra
by Tilok Adnan


She walks as a woman
More pronounced
Bangles hit her thighs
Those that swerve better
More pronounced

"Tread lightly" isn't in her vocabulary
She jolts along the crooked sidewalks
Where men struggle to jog
Her struggle is the quota she must meet
Preferably through empathy
More often than not, it is
Found in sympathy or annoyance

She is not a beggar
She demands like a woman
More pronounced
She is confident that
This is who she is now

A closer look at his adam's apple, adamant
There is no guilt in wanting livelihood
His face shines through her long hair
She must have inherited his nose from her father
His chest doesn't protrude as much
Only what her bra allows, like a woman
More pronounced

Her genitals a mystery
We assume that it's his
Her rolling eyes in rejection
More pronounced
Than a woman's

Eyeballs moving so far under the lids
Does she not see us when she does that? 
Are we gone for a millisecond?
Or Do we not see her for her?
Do we just see who he is
More pronounced? 

Eliza by Orfred

Eliza,
There are things you should know
It's easier to have faith
That's how it usually goes
And know that when you're blind
You can still choose not to bat an eye
Locked in this state of mind
I'm buying me some time
Let's hope that we collide
I'll hope that you come by

Eliza ...

Eliza,
There are things we don't see
But knowing they're there
It's easier to sleep
And aren't we all just kind of acting like creeps
Over a lot of things we know are make believe?
Let's hope this is concrete
I'll hope we come to meet

Eliza...

Eliza...