I am ViVi’s skin

I am a place of disquiet;
I am uncomfortable, aflame
with the desire to become
who I was always meant to be.
My cheeks burn
where the laser singes away
what once was dark beard stubble.

I am the wrapper
of a luscious piece of candy.
I am exotic, mysterious,
something least expected
yet full of energy and life.

For years, I had no name.
The one I was given at birth
fit as well as
a kimono on a giraffe
or lingerie on a rough tree trunk.
I searched for the right name,
one that honored my ethnic roots,
one that told of the woman
I was born to be.

I am a changeling, a work in progress.

I am anger that pinks my cheeks
when someone calls me ‘he’
or ‘mister’ or ‘sir’ –
for I am none of these.
I am sadness that I must swim
in bike shorts and a tee shirt,
at least for now.

I did not have the luxury of
gangly teen girl years
to learn what fashions slid
silkily over me, enhancing
my inner beauty. Learning
hairstyles and makeup,
lip gloss and rouge,
outer signs of the feminine,
I long to transform
into what I have always
felt that I am.

I am sister to women
who think all sorts of thoughts,
dream their own journeys,
from military life to lace and frills.

I stand beside them,
resembling only myself;
my unique path
needs no other validation
than my own free will.

***
Graphic: Metamorphosis by Deidre DeFranceaux

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Sharon Mishler Fox

Sharon Mishler Fox's poetry has been published in such journals as Tennessee Voices (an annual collection of winning poems from Poetry Society of Tennessee), Abyss & Apex, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Fresh Breath anthology, and on the national Where I'm From Project's collection of verse. She also has work forthcoming in the Nasty Woman and Bad Hombre Anthology. A Pennsylvania native, she is president-elect of the Poetry Society of Tennessee Knoxville Chapter, and is employed in multi-media marketing.

Latest posts by Sharon Mishler Fox (see all)

• ViVi’s Transformation – Poem by Sharon Mishler Fox - September 2, 2017