Tuesday 22 April 2014

NaPoWriMo Catch-up: Shaka, When the Walls Fell

Ivanova, who declared that she was God, 
rendered speechless, tearful,
by Talia's revelation.

Lieutenant Kira's evil twin,
clad in black leather, 
so wonderfully evil
that you'd WANT to live
in the Mirror Universe; 

Dax, who had been male and female
in her symbiotic life,
appearing at the door to her quarters
in a unitard, to tell a new recruit
she recommended wrestling
as the most fun form of exercise.

Uma Thurman drawing a square in the air
in front of John Travolta; 
her bare feet on the carpet
as the reel-to-reel sings 'Girl,
you'll be a woman soon'.

Neve Campbell holding a cigarette,
explaining she's reading Celine:
'He has a good line
on what cute FUCKS people are.'

Donna stood at Laura Palmer's door
asking through tears 'are you my BEST friend?'

The bravura finale
of Bechdel's 'Fun Home':
her riff on what kind of truth
is most important in the end.

***

This poem, named after a particularly geeky Star Trek: TNG reference, is about the way in which so many of my reference points for gender and sexuality come from particularly geeky pop culture moments. In order: Commander Susan Ivanova in Babylon 5, Lieutenant Kira (well, Evil Kira really) and Dax in Deep Space 9, Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, Neve Campbell in Wild Things, Laura Palmer and her best friend Donna in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and the long, wonderfully-crafted final chapter of Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel, reading which was a crucial stage in my accepting who I am.

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