2. Birth and Conception

Birth and death so closely paired
inevitably joined by bloody bands
she had been warned.
The gypsy had presaged
a devil’s spawn
fit for a black gowned father.
Brewed by the Warlock’s charm,
imbibed at the tide
a cruel destiny led away
from all lightness of being.
It was unnatural.



There is a theory, that a cause of transgenderism may occur in the womb. Severe upset to the mother in pregnancy may cause a disturbance to the baby’s development, as regards gender, particularly.
I have learned that their mother was about to leave their father, but on discovery of her state, she found herself hatefully stuck in an odious marriage. In the late 50’s, divorce and single parent families were an anathema in many social groups.
She experienced seeing streams of blood and believed that the baby was unnatural: a devil, who would be the death of her. She claimed that she had been warned by a fortune-teller and identified the child closely with the father, who became the source of all evil, in her mind.