Girls Doing Handstands, Southam Street, London 1956
A polemic once
mapped the world and
chambers of the heart
declaring
men love men three percent proof
and women love women
once or never
It explained the empty feeling in the bars
girls playing boys hitting balls into green pockets
It explained why gay men swelled in number
disco fever, why did they smell so much better?
is it nature or nurture?
testosterone in the womb or green enchiladas?
is it birth order or red hair?
left-handedness or playing Barbie too long with your sisters?
was it the color purple or your best friend Michael
showing each other what you had beneath the lilac tree
screaming and shouting FRANKFURTER!
at the top of your lungs
running as fast as you could
a natural instinct
the adults
drinking Pims Number One
look up briefly with reddened lips
boys will be boys
and girls will be girls
they nod all-knowing
knowing nothing
of the sum and the handspan
found only in the dial and fragile turn
of wonder