Probable Lady

Such a joy as a boy,
uniformed yet unashamed,
now newly named,
I admire how you wear
the sequinned word,
your coiffured hair,
and the self-made
vintage dress.
Your chiffon body
drifts in clouds of
perfume, rouge stains
and clothes your lips,
and femininity inhabits
your curvaceous hips.

Kim M. Russell, 16th June 2020

The Danish Girl, Lili Elbe | Lili elbe, The danish girl, Einar ...
Lili Elbe, the inspiration for ‘The Danish Girl’. image found on Pinterest

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics:  On Pride

Anmol is back this Tuesday, thinking about resistance movements, in particular Pride Month, which is celebrated in June, an opportunity to celebrate and learn or take inspiration from lgbtq+ poets. He says that their voices have helped him to me reclaim his voice and grow comfortable in his skin and identity.

He has shared poems by Audre Lorde and (my favourite) Saeed Jones, as well as a video of Alok Vaid-Menon performing a poem, and links to song for the kicked out by Kay Ulanday Barrett, and Queerodactyl by Roy G. Guzmán.

Anmol invites us to take inspiration from these poets and poems and write our own poems about pride, gender fluidity, sexuality, protest, et al. or we can just pick lines from the poems and build ours around them (duly quoting the poet and the poem).

I love ‘Boy in a Stolen Evening Gown’ by Saeed Jones so much, I decided to use one or two of the lines from it to develop my own poem.  

36 thoughts on “Probable Lady”

  1. I love the sounds and the feeling in this portrait! It’s great that you were inspired by Jones and those phrases work so well here. Always a pleasure to read your written word, Kim! I’ll be back for more (without the push of the prompts). 🙂

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  5. The seqinned word…oh I love that.
    It’s very hard for me to locate a sexual identity (or an ethnic identity for that matter) in many of the young people I see these days on the street. It’s very freeing. (K)

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  7. This is absolutely gorgeous writing, Kim 😀 I especially love; “Your chiffon body drifts in clouds of perfume, rouge stains and clothes your lips.” Wowww!! 💝💝

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  12. Beautifully writ. Your descriptive words are thoughtfully done….chiffon body and “I admire how you wear
    the sequinned word”
    An apt prompt for the day the US Supreme Court rules 6-3 to protect LGBTQ rights.

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  13. I love the title you chose for your very effective poem. May we one day come to understand we all just want to be respected and loved!

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  15. Yes, it is wonderful to see people really blossoming and discovering happiness after years of feeling they are trapped in the wrong body. Your poem really celebrates how that liberation lightens the entire being.

    Liked by 2 people

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  17. Ahh, sweet Lili, an inpsiration and a pioneer, did so much to make life better for those that came after, by doing something that for most people is not extraordinary, just to be. Love3 the sound and the sweet lilt of this poem. 🙂

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