How Did You Know You Were Trans?

i know it like i know my name.

i know it like i know that i cried when reading Mary Oliver for the first time.

i know that when i was young i dreamed of sprouting wings.

i know that when i was young i forgot my father’s face when he was deployed.

i know it like salmon migration. 

an unconditional need to return 

even if it takes me years.

i know it like my heart surgery. 

muscle stitched carefully together 

raw and vulnerable.

i know it like the end of the world. 

i know it like i believe in love 

despite it all.