John Marcus Powell's "Summer Stories"

The Friday before last John Marcus read at Pink Pony a tremendous poem about men who have sex with horses. Inspired by the film "Zoo," the poem was not prurient but delicate. Yesterday he read "Summer Stories," the third part of which offers a different take on the Iragi war.


3. Summer in Iraq

expect
bombs to tear the limbs off males
who used to like to wear high heels
when they had toes to their dear feet

expect
the explosion in the road
to sever the tendons of the lady driver
who liked a good tobacco in her pipe

Know who to look for within the cemetery
Certain military graves contain the remains of men dubbed 'sissy'
the handsome skeletons of brainy dikes

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is both a disturbing and very touching excerpt and it has made me think about the bravery of gay men and women very differently. I would like to read the entire poem.
9:52 PM
Jee Leong said…
Hi anon,
the other parts touch on different themes, though they are linked as summer stories.
6:16 AM
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