Ashcan Royalty

George Luks (American, 1866–1933)
I am Beauty shrouded in ugliness. A Harridan. Unkempt. Slovenly. Hair uncombed. I wander city streets like a Mumbling Chin Don. Buried in layers of over-sized clothing I am the Rag Pickers Son. Ambiguous. Gender-Neutral. Amorphous.
I pity the overly made up party girls snapping teeth and shredding claws fighting for yet fending off not so unwanted advances.
Androgyny is my protective cloak whilst favored neighbors enjoy early morn headboard banging sessions.
In life I am the Old Hag formerly a Duchess now a shapeless depraved harpy who wears multiple layers of petticoats, dresses and sweaters.
She of lost rank who has become maleficence incarnate. A Crone who struts like a Grande Dame puffing and swelling, whose very essence is an evil elixir that floods the streets and overflows the already befouled sewers.
