Big John, the Ogre

My friends, my friends!

Please gather round

And listen to the story

I’m about to expound

There once was an Ogre by the name of Big John.

They called on him when they needed heavy things moved from here to there. He was really good at that.

But the thing about Big John was that he was a thinking ogre, and that can be a dangerous combination.

He started to think about what he was doing moving the things from here to there.

All the places he was going he was barely even able to see, he was so busy working.

And so Big John started to take more breaks, put down the objects early,

Take a moment to rest and view the world around him,

Smell the smells that surrounded him and take in the good and the bad,

To hear the sounds, the music of the orchestra of the people and things near and far.

He realized when he rested he was able to think about how he felt.

Big John was tired. He had been moving things all his life.

He was tired of moving things but afraid to do anything else.

He had seen a few other people in the world doing this or that and he knew that there was something inside of him waiting to break free.

He wanted to be an artist. A singer. A writer. A poet. A lover. A fighter.

A pilot. A scientist. A sculptor. A director. A Linguist. He wanted to be many things.

He also realized that he wanted to be a woman.

For too long people had told him that he was supposed to be who he was because he was big and strong.

He grew a great big beard that was impressive even for ogres.

He was of great size, bigger than most, though not necessarily the biggest.

And he was the meanest, or at least he looked really mean but people always said that once you got to know him, he was really gentle.

And that’s what Big John meant when he said “I am a woman”. And then one day, she was.

She realized she had been living for everyone else instead of herself.

She took one big beardy look at herself in the mirror and let herself free. And that day, she became Big Diana.

Big Diana had big hugs for everyone.

Big Diana wore nice dresses and high heels and showed off her beautiful self, mind and body.

And she was happy. And while she continued to move things from here to there, she felt better about herself. She knew she was closer to the answer.

She could break free and do anything she wanted.

She became an artist because no one said that she had to sign up.

She became a writer because no one could stop her from having a voice.

She became a poet because no one else could see the world as she could.

She became a lover because no one should feel alone in this world of so many people.

She became a fighter because no one should feel alone in this world of so many people.

And she found that she was at peace.

With herself.

With her life.

With her love.


And she lived happily ever after.