“Always Have a Story,” “Field Notes,” “High Drama,” and “Chinatown Romeo”

ALWAYS HAVE A STORY

 
BAIT LIKE THE BUS
STAGED BUT I DON’T CARE
EXALT IN THEIR BODIES
WORTHLESS BOYS
DECORATE YOUR PLAIN
WHINNYING THROAT EXPLOSION
WILLIWAW OF CUM
LOAD IN DIAL-UP
CASTING COUCH BATED BREATH
POISON BY MAKE-UP
QUEST TO LOOK WHITE
WAIT FOR IT
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE AT VERSAILLES TODAY
BUT NO PLUMBING
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SMELL
BLOND PATROCLUS SWEAT LIKE HONEY
DOES THAT MAKE ME VENUS BEAUTIFUL
POUR GOLD KNOCK SCALES OFF BALANCE
CREATIVE HOLLYWOOD ACCOUNTING
I DON’T KNOW HER ACHILLES
THE RESEMBLANCE IS UNCANNY LOUIS MAYER
TITANS OF INDUSTRY MAKE AMUSING PETS
GREAT PHYSIQUE LAZY EYE
DISMISSED AS TRADE
EUREKA BETTA PUT SOME RESPEK ON IT
PLUM AS PEACH
YOU TASTE SO LEMONY
MASTURBATED BY
THE LONG ARM
OF COINCIDENCE
THEY TELL ME
NO TRANS FATS

FIELD NOTES ON THE PRODIGAL SON

she knows before i do that i want you

they see us out at dinner, dressed in our finery

i’m in a leather jacket from charivari

i don’t remember what you’re wearing, it’s the 80s

* * *

we order duck confit & baked alaska

not knowing what to expect

they say what a pretty family

too bad they are chinks

HIGH DRAMA PANDA FURY

For Blake

A fougère is a scent designed to mimic how a fern smells
Easy, obvious, straightforward enough, except ferns don’t really have smells
So a fougère is someone’s IDEA of what a fern OUGHT to smell like
. . . nobody dies in this poem b/c dying is not cute

Not all boys are worth chasing
I want to be ambitious yet cowardly
Yes it is better to lie in wait
You are cordially invited to cuddle with me, panting heroically:

Yes I want to have nice legs
I want to be tired after practice
I want to have muscles shapely & intimidating
I want to arouse envy

I want to taste artificially flavored blueberry
I want to have never seen Jurassic Park
I want to be unburdened by the knowledge of Jeff Goldblum as sex symbol
I want to be relieved that Chris Pratt is str8

I want to be from Long Island
I want to brunch with Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition
I want to catfish the Lieutenant Governor of California
I want to discuss the lady ghostbusters with my lady lawyer

I want to write a poem abt a horse
I want to know where to hide a body
I want to be lost at sea
I want to be one with the otters

I want to speak one language
I want to be Alan Cumming’s bathrobe
I want to catch the burglar in the act
I want to kiss him mid-tantrum

Yes I want to call in a favor with the moon
Hey
You there
Have you learned nothing

CHINATOWN ROMEO

I observe John taking a shit

            (it stinks really bad)

I don’t tell anyone what I witness

            (it reeks so bad)

He isn’t a vegetarian

            —do you think he’s ashamed?

Is that why he’s trolling the 
 
            corridors, catching glimpses of 

            transitory boys in towels?

        Shuffling boys with no souls,

    the outlines of their bulges fastidious

    Floppy cocks in 
                         various guises,

                pricks a nourishing sight

One so beautiful John drops his laptop

           —howling

Scattering boys like cockroaches

       despoiled & accidentally awake

“Always Have a Story,” “Field Notes,” “High Drama,” and “Chinatown Romeo”