Masculinity Ode
I used to think my body craved
annihilation. An inevitability,
like the slow asphyxiation
of the earth. Yoked to this body
by beauty, its shallow promises
I was desperate to believe,
too fearful to renounce my allegiance
even with its hand closing
around my throat. When I chose
myself, I chose surrender. God
is the river that remakes me
in its image. I didn’t know what
was waiting on the other side.
I swam through it anyway.
Copyright © 2024 by Ally Ang. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 16, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
“I contemplated transitioning for many years before I took the leap, but I let fear—of violence and rejection, of how I would be perceived, of my own masculinity and masculinity in general—hold me back. This poem is a celebration of the divine and liberating act of choosing one’s happiness despite that fear.”
—Ally Ang
Ally Ang
