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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DENVER STREET, by WILLARD JOHNSON First Line: A garish flare of magazines Last Line: And navels before breakfast! Subject(s): Gays & Lesbians; Oranges; Youth; Homoeroticism; Lesbians; Gay Women; Gay Men | |||
A garish flare of magazines Intrudes inappropriately Outside a stall. Afternoon colors, I reflect, Paper and ink night smells -- And yet a pink edition Of an early morning paper Blends aromatically with coffee. . . . And these oranges, Flamboyantly gay -- Oh, of course, oranges! They should never be seen (In their skins at least) Except at breakfast Or among the vegetables Offered on sidewalks To morning marketers. And there they are, Fragrant as spices With what glazed cheeks! And with an arrogant sign Above them; a perky sign: Sweet Navels. What! Navels! And before I have had my toast? My God, literature and navels Offered me on a public street Before the sun Has mounted the matutinal Smoke-mist. . . . Sweet navels. Ah! I think of a line from a poem. How does it go? ". . . The morning has offered me its youth In the petals of its hands . . ." And somewhere I have read: "Thy navel is like a round goblet Which wanteth not liquor: Thy belly is like . . ." Like an orange, perhaps. But really, literature And navels before breakfast! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FEMALE MASCULINITY by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE ASS FESTIVAL by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THE BOOK OF SCAPEGOATS by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM DOSSIER OF IRRETRIEVABLES by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM THIS ONE'S FOR YOU by JAN HELLER LEVI I KNOW MY HUSBAND'S BODY by TIMOTHY LIU FROM A HOUSE IN NEW ENGLAND (TO A FRIEND IN THE WEST) by WILLARD JOHNSON |
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