.
The clematis vine, the companion,
flowers float
in a porcelain
bowl --
outside the dancehall.
Page taunts a crowd nearby,
"come and get me if
you can --
(I AM HE who goes first)"
.
Hadrian -- the mighty general
plays a mystery dance in his
limbs. His hand contracts,
knees bend, and lips furl
astride, as he gives his command.
.
Lights flash in the haze
mirrored chambers, multiply
they dance arms
akimbo legs from the camp
the focus; myriad limbs,
an aesthetic passes
between us, we are
together.
.
But not so,
when the weather grows cold.
.... .... .....
So many, so many
as Raymond said, a 'hundredfold'
of men -- for the dance.
.
I know him in my dream. I know it is
alright to dance,
as he moans in my ear, choking
on his breath,
"only love will survive"
.
...he has passed...
with Ray nearby I begin to doubt
--myself in the mirror
i do not see love any longer.
.
I AM HE who goes first, before you.
.
I dance while he dies,
poppies grow from my lips
...
I see him smiling,
I see other flowers
faces in the mirror.
I see these brilliant
lights.
But these are not....the faces of love
Not in Playboy, nor in Blueboy,
not in the marketplace.
It is not morning in America for me.
Love is not on the newsstand,
a smile does not
shine in the lights.
.
Outside the dancehall,
like logos on stone,
wind on a sail,
at the moment of zero gravity,
between the drifts of air
six youths holding baseball bats.
.
On a television somewhere, the
president mentions the 'innocent.'
.
I AM HE who goes before you. . .
.
[end {but not yet}]
9 May 1996
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