Poem: "Shane Reaction"

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today's second freebie poem is courtesy of new donor morrigans_eve and prompter poeticknowledge.  I found that the fluidity mentioned by morrigans_eve fit well with the feisty character mentioned by poeticknowledge.  We don't have television, so somebody who actually watches The L Word  and knows Shane will have to gauge how close I came to the mark.  Note: this poem contains some frank language about human sexuality and life challenges that may not be to everyone's taste.  Think before you click.

Shane Reaction

Shane is smarter than people think,
more rounded than they realize,
intricate as clockwork
and precise as moonrise.
She is dark eyes and tousled hair,
a long story with the last page missing.

To Shane,
identity isn't a residence,
it's a tool.
It's not something she lives in,
it's something she works with.

She is a woman
but sometimes dresses as a boy.
She is a lesbian
who has fooled with men.

She has fucked people,
and fucked them over,
and been fucked up,
and lost count
because she wasn't keeping score.

It's all leverage to her,
the right tool for the job,
sweet words or sharp blades
or hot sweaty sex at midday.

Shane is a survivor.
She knows that she will get through
whatever happens next,
because she has before --

and it is this,
more than her flat chest
or androgynous face
or eclectic sleeping habits
that makes people drop their eyes

and look away
as if they had stared too long at the sun.