dyke
i've learned to dance
with other women
free and moving
many of us
i run acrosstown
four a.m. singing
i write poems
about me about my life
which i've learned to value
i've learned to say
aloud who i am
what i believe in
to share my feelings
even when i'm angry, confused
or in pain.
today i'm staying still
alone and quiet
absorbing all this
that it's taken me
my lifetime
to know exists.
morgan murielchild
line drawing on facing page