B.Z. Niditch: three poems
AMONG THE FATHERS
you wanted
to be a priest and prostitute
behind the same bar
the guy you met
was a cop and thug
and in his shiny car
he gave you license
and you gave him head
he had you arrested
then behind bars
in the same bed
you wanted to be
a king
in your rumpled jacket
you felt dead
remembering your catechism
but you were always
too late for mass
you wanted ecstasy in springtime
the first time
you were asked out
you like older guys
more experienced
but when they got down to business
you had no prayerful wind left.
EAST END, WEST END
You met him (after church)
in the East End
running lightly
but could not wait
to be tied up
by the weight lifter
who ate you out
(of house and home)
why were you horny
for that same bar
giving up thinking
and drinking just for today
he wore a navy cap
so he was an ex-Marine
you didn't know
bo diddley about sex
was greener than beer
to this invader
of your sole body
ripping it up
and you took the cup
which your god sent you
those husks of flesh
filled with Star of Bethlehem
which can never heal.
LOOKING FAMILIAR
I admit
it was your aura that rises
to twist our fate
by a solar bolt
that changes like a busy signal
when i started to know you
not dated by justice or sex
B.Z. Niditch is a poet, playwright, and short story writer. His many credits include Affair of the Mind, Angelflesh,
The Denver Quarterly, Devil Blossoms, The Literary Review, and The Plastic Tower. His collection, Crucifixion
Times was published in 1998.
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