Thing in Itself
In his Chinese tunic suit —
solemn, composed —
wearing caring masculinity,
my great-grandfather,
gentle yet resilient.
Through every gaze,
hegemony reveals itself —
strength enshrined as decree,
tenderness cast aside as femininity.
Yet somewhere, quietly,
an orchid blooms against the weight of expectation.
I begin to reenact bodily memory,
sewing echoes into fabric —
softness and strength entwined,
identity loosening at its seams,
layer by layer,
function shifting, reweaving,
until only the true self remains —
fluid, diverse, hybrid —
a knit of softness and might.
Now, garments embody —
genderless, equal, free,
a revolutionary, wearable form.