I am both Life and Death

The ground beneath me has not given birth to me, Neither has fire, But fire and the soil bow in front of me, With joined hands and shook heads, They pay me the respect That their children cannot.

I am greater than all, Including the Gods and Goddesses, For I have made greater sacrifices, I have been through greater sorrow, I have been in greater love, And I posses greater power in my eternity.

I am the world and much more than it, But I am acknowledged by no part of it, I exist in thin air, Giving life to everything and nothing, Yet I am only thought to be satisfying hunger.

I am a belief, That no one believes, Believed to be the filthy object, That everyone uses from thin air.

Such filth is what I bathe in, Because it touches me to transform Into life, Since I am the reason everything around me breathes, And I am what they breathe.

And by forgiving all the filth that I am put through, I become greater every day, I grew and I am growing, To be greater than the historic Gods And the mortal species, But the power in me belittles the power with me, In the process of seeking more power.

But I believe in the belief that is me, I will not use my power or make it visible.

I am the power that the blind can see, I am the air the dead can feel, I am the forgiveness the living can see through, I am the meteor that will end the world, And the breath that keeps it alive.

I am both life and death, I will shake life and bring it on its toes, And I will enrich death and make it compulsory.

I am the greatest noise that you cannot hear, And the soothing calm before a storm, That I will never let occur.

I am everything and nothing. I am both life and death, And I am greater than it all.

By Vrithika Pattapu, for the Trans Solidarity Fundraiser

• ASHOKA UNIVERSITY
• Trans Solidarity Fundraiser