As a young lad, 
          As a young maid, 
the gender-fluid seer 
     met a pair of snakes.
Tiresias lost their eyes      
     but expanded their wisdom.
They advised seven generations 
     of Theban kings.
They provided marital therapy 
     to Zeus and Hera.
When Odysseus showed up 
     in the afterlife, 
     he found Tiresias counseling souls.
Tiresias fascinated the ancients.
Gender reassignment 
     for them, 
          was a kind of magic 
          
or a gift from the gods. 
     
For Tiresias,           
     a personal discovery,           
     a period of exploration, 
and ultimately,           
     a choice.
Greg R. Fishbone
May 2020