(after The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault)
Puedes leer a Foucault
the ways of sex
mientras estoy
obscure
entre tus piernas
elusive
poner el libro
by nature
en tu escritorio
its energies and
concentrarte mucho
mechanisms
mientras mi lengua
escaped observation
te distrae
and its casual power
de la cintura
partly clandestine
para abajo
creo q Fou la aprobaría.
can you spare just one
one strike against my back
my time a hand
can it move
wrapped rose beautiful
bodies touching
not boys not girls
two trans fags
between fingertips
at the end
of my tongue
see you as human
in the fifth chamber
not baptized
some abhorrent
aberration
some immoral Iliad
of a beautiful.
can you spare just one
one afternoon
surround me and be a body
stepping into skin
and muscle
into spasm an ache
an arc of sweat and
sweet salt wet
see you a body
a human
resting with
my body.
I would like to make you stop
thinking pressure
some activity
that defines gender ambiguity
perhaps a good exercise
a set of sexual practices
no guessing involved
I’m wondering if I can really mess up the system
by going down on you during class
two or more bodies in play
gender a complex set of negotiations
I cringe a little every time
between bodies
identities.
I have many questions
and desire.
Plus. Getting fucked by a trans fag is considered extra credit.
You aren’t required to be here
hammering winds of hydrogen
standing the tribunal of time
telling yourself to listen
You aren’t required to
take your time
toward the insular blaze
our blood a whitebeam
a lack of urbanity
amidst cold concrete
etched plexiglas
at the water’s edge
an inburst of old pain
and deep joy
You aren’t required
yet even in death
the ruby glow of evening
reminds us to stand ground
beyond that landfill
a riant chorus of shared deviance
busting the veil with each sunrise
nary a loss of bodily form.
My lovers drag poetry out of me
in the darkest, brightest hours
Mis amantes arrastran la poesía de mí
while cop cars blaze
en las horas tan oscuras, brillantes
in June heat
mientras las patrullas arden
and anger burns out
en el calor de junio
every cell of calm
y la ira quema a
enflamed in sugar
cada celda de calma
stomach gnawing at itself
inflamada en azúcar
estómago royendo si mismo
they demand poetry
lay heavy hands on tension
elles exigen la poesía
serene shrouds of mercury
ponen sus manos pesados en la tensión
weigh me down to the word
sudarios serenos de mercurio
the sensuous word
que me cargan hasta la palabra
felt on lips
la palabra sensual
felt finger on shoulder sinew
sentido en los labios
and so I write
dedos sentidos en la fibra espaldilla
y entonces escribo
I write and they demand
another language, demand
escribo y me mandan
I cross the bridge
otra idioma, requieren
between cognitive worlds
que yo cruce la puente
knife the neural pathways
entre los mundos cognoscitivos
for this syllabic swell
que acuchille los patrones neurales
a word for
para esta oleada silábica
hands between thighs
una palabra para
manos entre los muslos
a word for tongue on neck
una para la lengua en el cuello
for desires like embers
para deseos como brasas
the monsoon coming for us
el monzón que viene por nosotres
could never extinguish.
ni podría extinguirlas.