RANE ARROYO

BLUE COUSIN

 

I walk past the Pleasure Chest in whose windows
two Teddy bears in leather whip the hell
out of each other. Yeah, I laugh. If I

don't, I might get hauled away for crying
on Broadway, far from Vietnam. A bar
for a church. Jukebox pickpockets the sex

life out of me. Yes, I can Watussi.
Mama Cass, this is dedicated to me:
I was once a virgin and unloved.

America, my crotch had a future
in it. I was just 17, in wet
underwear, shooting at the North Star, New Year's

day. In the army, I learned that body
bags are for corpses. Ghosts have to hitchhike.
My tattoos are scars made beautiful.

from:
The SINGING SHARK, Rane Arroyo, Bilingual Press, 1996
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