"The Sacrifice" by Max Ureña

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

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