Pelt and Mask

Pelt and Mask

Many faces make the man that hides away
Behind coat and smile – pelt and mask –
To protect or to escape,
To be free or to ensure freedom away from his nature.
For he is frightening.
For he is deserving of trapping, hunting, beheading, hanging,
Burning in the pyre with his spellbinding cousins.
Shape changer, lycanthrope, fairy, half-human,
Lusus naturae; undeserving of basic human rights.
For loving like a human does not make him human,
Nor does dressing like one.
The coat and smile cannot disguise the pelt and mask,
Cannot tuck away the barring teeth or patch the wounds
Made by their protectors.

Notes

Notes

Below are some notes about this piece, including the thoughts and external inspirations that occurred during its creation. 
Bear in mind, this is simply what I was thinking of when I wrote these poems and what they mean to me. If you interpreted them differently, that does not diminish how you felt as the reader nor the correctness/incorrectness of what you were thinking. 
Pelt and Mask [2022] is a free verse poem using inspiration from 'Bisclavret' by Marie de France and explores the theme of 'otherness' that is found in the folk tales of lycanthropy, is based around an unusual, unfamiliar, and ambiguous creature that does not conform to the laws of beasts or men. Lycanthropy is a common theme for queerness in media and that's why the imagery of  multiple disguises and how even with all the effort put into hiding who you truly are, you can't hide from it.
free verse

Below are some notes about this piece, including the thoughts and external inspirations that occurred during its creation.
Bear in mind, this is simply what I was thinking of when I wrote these poems and what they mean to me. If you interpreted them differently, that does not diminish how you felt as the reader nor the correctness/incorrectness of what you were thinking. Poetry is subjective, and so is being alive.

Sources: 

PennState
Internet Archive