All the Gay Poets Go Extinct

 
Profile view of a man depicted in a multi-color, mixed-media collage work. There are multiple compartments inside the head, each holding a different image such as a tree, a fish, a bird, the earth, and a woman with a child.

“Gold Mind” by Alison Cimmet

7.     When I dug up your
grave I was looking for condoms
but the translator confused
prophylactics with pterodactyls

which maybe feels right
depending on which end
you are on

so this is how I missed
the gay bars of Madrid
and found your ankle bone
instead

6.     Now I will go forth with
this bone, asking your forgiveness
from the brotherhood, the sisterhood
the fluidity and non-entity and
undecidedness of
ankle bones

converted by so many fine, silk
stockings, I see now

why we put underwear on our feet

5.     Each of you is my pope, each of you
grants me absolution, indulgence on
this pilgrimage to extinction

Indulgence of the lead cross, lead foot, the lead
coffin lined with velvet carrying the
foot, all the disembodied parts of us
left trailing in our wakes, forgotten on
the floor of the men’s bathroom at
                                    the Barcelona Hilton

4.     the lead pellets under your skin (hunting
accident), the lead I carried
in my ass (genetics)

between us carrying enough
lead poisoning to kill the dinosaurs

and I am wearing a lead vest
(Louis Vuitton) to shield
me from your meteorite

3.     Queer poets are the original
alchemists, transmuting all
of my lead into gold

every word of theirs bloodied
before it hits the silent page

and the blood is also mine
your blood and page, and mine

dang, no wonder I have so many
bills!

2.     Yes, I love the flow
of words but even one
of yours will bring
this mountain down, yes

even one tarsal bone of
yours will shake the earth
like sauropods broke
the Mesozoic 

1.     Bus-sized footprints show
where you once made these stony
floorboards creak until they finally
gave way
(eulogium to load-bearers)

This is your fate, my priest tells
me.  Accept it.

I guess it would be like God coming to
your birthday party.  You act happy no
matter what They give you, ¿verdad? 

but afterward, I get back on the
bus and ride home quietly with a
faint smile bearing your fingerprints
my fingerprints bearing your smile

0.     There are not many lizards
who can build their own museums
but that is how you survive
in the age of mammals.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Wittkopf (he/him) is a queer-identified artist whose work can be found in publications like High Shelf Press, Sepia Quarterly, and House Journal.

about the artist

Alison Cimmet’s art focuses primarily on mixed-media painted collage work, celebrating vibrant colors and curious textures. “Gold Mind” is an original, handmade, painted paper collage with acrylics and gold leaf on stretched canvas. Using mandala imagery as a starting point, Cimmet then incorporates a treasure trove of iconography and symbolism of phrenology, kintsugi, halos, music notation, and the printed word. Please see her art portfolio for more: www.Fancille.com.

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