Desire

Willingly
suspended
on the pole

Blood-flushed
faux-sweet
like we all have
all the time
in the world

I was born with everything I need
for this Work

of putting self
in abeyance
Of body presented
as message and not
presence or identity

Letting myself
be seen
without betrayal
of who I am

I can be anything I want
in this place where they demand
that I be whatever works

I chose the name I use
for its clowning value

Not all of us have done this
the way I have
but some of us
know very well
what we’ve stripped off
and what remains intact

The money isn’t bad
as a way of keeping score
but it’s not great all the time

On the nights
when it’s bad
I play harder

What I offer
under the guise of sex
is a tug of war
between their power
and mine

where who’s winning is secondary
to the push and pull joy
of this Work

Tags: poems, poetry, meditations