Joe is restless and so am I, so restless.
Buttonโs buddy lips frame โL G T TH O P?โ
across the bar. โYes!โ I cry, for dancingโs
my soul delight. (Feet! Feet!) โCome on!โ
Through the streets we skip like swallows.
Howard malingers. (Come on, Howard.) Ashes
malingers. (Come on, J.A.) Dick malingers.
(Come on, Dick.) Alvin darts ahead. (Wait up,
Alvin.) Jack, Earl, and Someone donโt come.
Down the dark stairs drifts the steaming cha-
cha-cha. Through the urine and smoke we charge
to the floor. Wrapped in Ashesโ arms I glide.
(Itโs heaven!) Button lindys with me. (Itโs
heaven!) Joeโs two-steps, too, are incredible,
and then a fast rhumba with Alvin, like skipping
on toothpicks. And the interminable intermissions,
we have them. Jack, Earl and Someone drift
guiltily in. โI knew they were gay
the minute I laid eyes on them!โ screams John.
How ashamed they are of us! ย we hope.
[APR - breaking format for this poem. Thanks for your attention and patience.]
Itโs nice to belong, to feel connected to others. But what happens when you realize that your fundamental beliefs donโt line up with the people you want to be close to? Do you bring it up? And, what does that conversation sound like? Guest host Sean Cole sits in for Ira.
areudirty
kaledo-art
vaporwave
yousharknotpass