Straight Girl

By Laura Gibbs

Straight girl, never doubt it

An identity identified

Mother-to-be, bride-in-waiting

Constructed for their bliss.

.

An identity identified

Pillow soft, midnight curls, sharing stares

Constructed for their bliss

Don’t you see me at all?

.

Pillow soft, midnight curls, sharing stares

Invisible to them, unseen need

Don’t you see me at all?

An object for men, not for girls.

.

Invisible to them, unseen need

And so I change, I am not

An object for men, not for girls

Purple-haired and pierced.

.

And so I change, I am not

Mother-to-be, bride-in-waiting

Purple-haired and pierced

Straight girl, never doubted.

Illustration by Verity Laycock