It rhymes with Ka-Ching!

That’s not the jackpot to hit

It is not a lucky name

Ba’ding, Ba-daf, Bak-la!

You walk funny, like a girl

Act like a boy for pete’s sake!

Stop playing with those dolls!

Don’t hang around the kitchen!

Dad’s belt left welts on your bum

He screams at you in public

Tells everyone he does not

Have a son, you are not blood

Mom caught you wear her dress

Her nails ripped through your cheek

It is a forever wound

To remember her by

Where are you going Bading?

Vultures in white robes circled

Took you behind their altar

Picked your innocence apart

Wanna suck my cock Bakla?

The school bully cuffed him

You play with the boys okay?

The nuns pulled your ear so hard

When it was your turn to sing

MC called you Badaf instead

Whole gym roared with laughter

You left the stage in tears

You asked yourself questions

Why? What is wrong with me?

What kind of a life is this?

Am I such a bad person?

Do I deserve this abuse?

Where the hell is that razor?

What rope is good for the neck?

Remember that time when you

Stood at the edge of a bridge

One early June morning?

You had a choice. To Live!

YES! YES! YES! I am Ba.Ding!

The one you love to hate!

Because I don’t prescribe

To your closed-mindedness

Call me anything you want!

Bitch or Parlorista!

Siyo-ke or Bayot!

I am who I am! Really!

No matter what, I love you

Hold your hands or hug you

I’m a wonderful human

I may hurt but love more

In the end of the day

I will sleep at night happy

Knowing that I am able

To be the Ba.ding I am

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. March 2020