You made a big deal about showing me
your Andrea Gibson tattoo, as we drank
coffee at ten pm. It was before I had a tattoo,
when I could still drink coffee late.
You asked me to your apartment for a movie
and showed me your bedroom copy
of The Ethical Slut with the door
wide open. In an alcove, we sat on the sofa
under a blanket without touching.
It was before I’d had sex with a woman,
before I’d had sex at all. Your roommate
walked by, and nothing about this was private.
I didn’t know what you wanted, so I went out
with you again just to see what you would do.
*The title is a line from Andrea Gibson’s poem “Pole Dancer” from Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns.
Ren Wilding earned an MA in Literature and Gender Studies from the University of Missouri. Their work appears in Braving the Body, Comstock Review, Palette Poetry, Pine Hills Review, Tulip Tree, and Zoetic Press, and others. They received a Pushcart nomination and are co-curator of the “Words Like Blades” series.
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