Sex-Change

From puberty in torture and despair He fought to change his given gender. Through psychiatric tests, the long delays, The interviews, the plain refusals, His female mind so desperate To find a female body. His wife's deserted him for someone else Whose wife became his greatest friend, She was to us Miss Anne, or just plain Annie, A gentle soul but honest in appraisal. He worked so hard to raise the cost Of operations that he faced And meet the harsh conditions. He had to live two years as a woman Before they'd offer him the final op. Success! The kindest cut of all Upon the operating table! Our Jim endured a sex change Into something rich and strange, And became Jeannette! No drama like the 'Tempest'. In fact After the final act her friend, Our mistress Annie did conduct A close inspection of the final product. And sadly she declared: 'That's not a proper Fanny! ' Oh dear! But after all her toils This was a minor upset A little crack in her self-esteem And best forgot. I never saw it so I cannot Comment on the pure aesthetics Nor indeed the question of genetics Implicit in my story.