Warning
The blank verse story below might make folks uncomfortable. It tells the story of a woman, different from others in her town, and a brief moment she endures on her walk home from a late night at her pub job. It shines a light on the shame we might feel when we are judged and generalisations are made about us. Even a woman in a beautiful dress can feel singled out and belittled.

Only the torch light paints her path to home
And even then the shadows glow in flickers

See her walking home

From pub to door, the walk should be a breeze
But something makes her pause at every turn

She stops at every turn

Her weathered fingers worry one another
She knows those rough hands tell the town her class

Her class is on her hands

As if they didn’t know already. Sure,
The patrons say she’s comely, but she knows
“Exotic” is a word that denigrates.

They say she is “Exotic”.

How easy it would be, she thinks, if only
Her heart could grow as weathered as her hands

She curses all her softness

But when the farrier gives her a smile
Her softness triumphs with no counteraction

But turns and smiles against it

Despite the past, despite recurring patterns
She turns and smiles: tonight, it could be different

It might be said she flirts

The farrier’s a nice enough pub patron
Who never grabs her hair, but now he laughs
And pokes his drunken friend and says, she wants me

But then she’s stone

Then, quick as growing shadows, she is stone
She spurs her pace and stares down at her feet
And scorns herself for letting down her guard
For one step on the longest short walk home.

Notes and Credits:
Dress, Boots: Silvan Moon Designs, Esmeralda (Get it tomorrow at We Love Role-Play!)
Hair: Analog Dog (natch!), Tercia (Get it from the new release board at the Analog Dog Main Store!)
Necklace: Rise Design, Linosa Necklace (Get it at The Liaison Collaborative!)
Hair Jewellery: Bauhaus Movement, Amanda Headband (Get it at the Bauhaus Movement Main Store!)
Body: Maitreya
Head: Lelutka Evolution Lake
Skin: DeeTaleZ, Cora in Eastern
Ears: Random Matter, Song Elfie Ears
Eyes: S0ng, Risa, Dark Brown
Eyeshadow: Stunner Originals, Eyeshadow Madid, Tone A6
Poses: The Owl, Graphic Tenderness, Strange State
Setting: Paleto, Amizmiz Backdrop