Finished reading book number 59 for the year – Masculinity Digs A Grave Over My Body by Soz (pen name).
It’s been a while since I’ve read fiercely personal poetry, like the words burnt on the tongue of the poet and then set the pages on fire. Perhaps it’s the anonymity that enables the poet to bare his soul to us.
“To my mother. For I do not have the courage to read these to you”, the dedication in the first page declares. And then we enter the world of a gender fluid adult who is forced to live in the closet during the days.
“In this country,
Soz
only women have fought
for inheritance rights.
I too will fight
to inherit my mother’s saris
knowing
I am not her daughter,
knowing,
she is my mother.”
Soz the poet laments how patriarchy shackles not just women, but even men, who are forced to live up to standards of masculinity, forbidden from walking a certain way, from dressing in certain clothes and from loving those from the same gender.
“Masculinity Digs A Grave Over My Body” is an essential read for anybody who is interested in queer literature.