Definitely Beautiful |
Taylor Mali's Poetry Blog |
She is based in New York City. Tell me if you want me to get you in touch with her.
As you may know, I have bookmarks that advertise my new book, "What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World." Everybody loves them because the back side is actually a temporary tattoo that says TOUGH TEACHER! Would you like some? If you send me a standard #10 letter envelope stamped and addressed to you, I will fill it with as many tattoos as the postage will allow. That's about 9 tattoos for a regular First Class stamp. If you want more simply put more postage on the envelope. If you send me a Priority Mail envelope, I will fill it to capacity. Mail you SASE to:
for Jason Carney
A redneck working on an MFA,
two gay Texans, a blonde in a miniskirt
and cowboy boots, and poet from New York City
all walk into a gay cowboy bar in Dallas.
This is not a joke.
It is the week before Christmas and the dance floor
is filled with cowboys dancing a Texas two step
and holding each other lovely and close, here
where the threat of being beaten to death
has been banished to the long drive home,
or at least the parking lot outside.
This is not a joke.
This is something I was told I had to see
because we don’t have anything like it in New York City.
It is the week before Christmas, and there is one old
jolly white-bearded cowboy in his mid seventies
dressed up to look like just like Santa Claus.
If Santa Claus ever went to a gay cowboy bar in Dallas, Texas.
Or New York City for that matter.
Neither of the gay Texans will dance with Jason,
the redneck, and I know this because I watch him
get shot down twice, both of them laughing
and holding each others’ hands a little harder
as if to say, “We will not take part in what, for you,
will no doubt be in time just a funny story.”
This is not a joke.
And of course, to waltz the floor in a gay cowboy bar
with a woman, even if she is blonde, wears a hat
like a rodeo, and rocks red lipstick like a bloody mouth—
especially for all of this—would be disrespectful.
A redneck knows this. So Jason doesn’t ask.
And it must be because I am not gay that Jason doesn’t ask
me to dance, which, under the circumstances,
seems not to be a good enough reason.
So it is I who asks him. And we take each other
in our arms and dance, as best we can,
the only two straight guys in the bar.
Or so it seems to us, which is why we laugh
while we dance, our friends at the table wishing
that between them someone had a camera.
This was long ago. And I can hear in the memory
of that laughter now other minor strains of fear,
and shame, and privilege—this is not a joke—
but the major tones are merely joy, and love.
And that’s how I remember the night Jason and I
danced in a gay cowboy bar in Dallas, Texas.
The table dimensions are: 36" wide, 79 1/4 ' long with the leaf in and probably 60" without it, 30" high like usual.The chair dimensions are: 18" wide, 18" deep, 39" hightWe do have extra fabric for the chair seat covers that we'll throw in. I'll bring it down from Housatonic.The whole set cost us about $10K new. Check out John Kelly's website if you want to confirm: http://www.johnkellyfurniture.com/
Table and chairs with leaf inTable top with leaf in
Table detail
Chairs
Which is not to say that I consider myself a Christ figure in any way! April truly is the cruelest month if you are a poet; I do not have even a day to sit and reflect upon what was so life-changing about my haircut last night. A huge thank you to everyone who came to the Bowery poetry club last night to share the completion of my 12 year quest to convince 1000 people to become teachers.
Last night, for my birthday, a young Canadian couple took me out for dinner and a tour of the souk, the local bazaar. Imagine narrow alleys filled with bustling shops selling pashminas, hookahs, perfume, and all things golden. The height of the buildings would block the sun during the day, but these places really thrive at night. It's the best time of day to be out in this country. Below is a short video from the animal alley; the Qataris have a thing for dyeing animals. Dying? No, dyeing. Well, both, I guess.
Home tomorrow! Taylor
I think maybe I SHOULDN'T cut my hair at the Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday, April 7th, because I am ROCKING this look!
TaylorOne of the teachers who organized my visit here is named Linda Hoiseth, who seven years ago invited me to come to her school in Warsaw, and then, on my last night in town, beat me in SCRABBLE by playing the word MINOTAUR, which I did not challenged but should have (because there's only one Minotaur, and that was his NAME!). So I've been looking forward to this rematch for a long time!
I ended up winning 403-290, but I had both blanks. I also played the word PERV (not acceptable but unchallenged) and PERVE (which is also not acceptable but remained on the board). Everything went my way. We are now 1-1 and have agreed to play again in 2019!
Tomorrow is my birthday! Taylor
Taylor Mali is a poet and teacher who travels the world writing poetry and teaching.
