H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

DAVID COPE

“La Goulue” Considers His Lines

O, I could wow ‘em

when I had the stage—

I had those boys

singing in the aisles

calling out my name with roses—

O those hip shakes, O let go!

& wild, wild eyes every night

under the lights—

so when you called, I o’erlooked

my torso, once without a stitch

(oho!)

of fat, & saw I’d not be what I was yet

O the hap of it, to be

in my chartreuse gown & my

feathers again, to sing &

leap again—if only once—&

feel my legs carry me up

in my fishnet stockings & slippers, to

turn again & sing again—

so I dream, alone on my bed, & peer

into that mirror & see

that sweet-faced boy now

valiantly—is it age? hoping

to live out some fantasy?—

or art, the love, the feel of it—

moving out into those lights &

just letting go, letting be, the rush of

breathing in a wild turn,

sighing again

& again, beyond the image

we make for ourselves.

O to come again for you,

come once more

to that dazzling light!