Femme

I came out in the era of androgyny. The left over flavor of the 70's style feminism had infused the community with self hate, assimilation and shame. Lesbians in Philadelphia were lost in their need to be and not be seen. A queer community didn't exist, and most connections happened around a cocktail at the local dyke bar. Edges were rounded, politics were side swiped and so many had fallen into the arms of complacency. Butch was not a word uttered by anyone to describe themselves let alone claim it as an identity. Femme was not a word I ever heard and anyone manifesting outwardly femininity was called a Lipstick Lesbian. I was confused, bewildered and lost in a land of no words to describe, not only my attractions but my own identity. Several years will pass before I grow into my gender. I now utter HER name over and over again until she grows into a power of atomic magnitude that vibrates so powerfully that she's felt for millions of miles.

I am a Femme, A High Femme, A Power Femme. Unadulterated, unyielding, unwavering, unashamed, unabashed, unrelenting, Femme!

In the presence of heros

At the edge of cliffs

I sit with dangling feet

Wanting to jump into the abyss

I feel the wind lift my hair

and gently I lean to hear the sound

It calls to me softly

The pounding waves

Crash at my soul

I know that there are words

That I can claim my vision

I close my eyes tight

And leap into the air

To land amongst the fallen

I glide gently

And to my astonishment

I land softly

In the presence of Heros