I kissed a girl

Indiana Tolstoy

I kissed a girl and she wanted to kiss me back

But I’m a sprinter and so I ran as fast as I can

I reached a room full of Gods and they stared

As if I had sprouted another head

They knew!

They could smell the fear and desire reeking off me

They could tell I was this close to being free

So they brought all the chains they could find

State, Faith, Kin, Friends to help them bind

And Oh they tried!

My heart a demon they attempted to exorcise

My tenuous belief in humanity they wished to destabilize.

Woman came of Man’s ribs, they said

But Man is born of Woman! Of their breasts fed!

And sometimes Women have ribs but no wombs

At times Doctors don’t heal but leave wounds

They altered me!

Cut my body like a pair o jeans to be mended

Like an act that needs to be amended.

When I look at a mirror I see human

What more now stands to be proven?

I bleed as you bleed

I love as you love

Even if you think I don’t deserve to live

Cause my body disobeyed the laws you built

Your pills, your therapy and your glares

Cannot really dampen love’s flames

I wish that before I walked the last mile

I could see my love echoed in her smile

Let her know that I loved her the best

That my soul belongs to her though my eyes rest

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About the poet:

Indiana Tolstoy is a University survivor currently seeking employment in the corporate

sector. She loves to read, write, converse, think and hates living in a box. Residing in the suburbs of the steel city of Jamshedpur, she dreams of owning a publication house someday (maybe also a cafe).