“…from good sympathies you don’t necessarily write good poetry. ”
Thom Gunn
(August 29, 1929 – 2004)
Sign: Virgo
Gay Anglo-American poet who was acclaimed for his verse that used traditional forms to explore the relationships between homosexuality, drug abuse, and urban culture, most notably in The Man with Night Sweats (1992).
Skateboard
Tow Head on his skateboard
threads through a crowd
of feet and faces delayed
to a slow stupidity.
Darts, doubles, twists.
You notice how nimbly
the body itself has learned
to assess the relation between
the board, pedestrians,
and immediate sidewalk.
Emblem. Emblem of fashion.
Wearing dirty white
in dishevelment as delicate
as the falling draperies
on a dandyish
Renaissance saint.
Chain round his waist.
One hand gloved.
Hair dyed to show it is dyed,
pale flame spiking from fuel.
Tow Head on Skateboard
perfecting himself:
emblem extraordinary
of the ordinary.
In the sexless face
eyes innocent of feeling
therefore suggest the spirit.
“Faggot Forefathers” is a weekly series highlighting the lives of historically significant gay men and their contributions to our world.
