A Piece of Cloth

A Piece of Cloth
(by Walter Beck)

It started as a lark, a bet,
A half-assed dare,
Another chance to bend the rules
And freak some normies out.

It became another part of my stage attire,
Another prop for my live art,
Nothing new certainly,
But something new for me.

When I took it beyond the stage
It shook things up at work
And back at home as well;
My mother panicked when she saw it,
My old man just shook his head and wondered.

I said I did it for comfort,
Which was at least partially true,
Still it prompted questions about pronouns,
My partner in love curious if there was a new journey in my head.

A simple piece of cloth
Raises such curiosity, questions, confusion, and even anger
When you’re a guy
And one day
You decide
To start wearing a skirt.

10-20-2015