Two Poems by R. Zamora Linmark
Last Dance
So sad Donna Summer
passed away
this morning I have
nothing to say
I’m here standing by the
window
processing recovered
memories
in lieu of loss the
mourning sun
on my face ghetto and
glamour
twenty-two stories
beneath my feet
it makes me sick to say
farewell
to another diva whose
disco tracks made
my first years in America
supra-bearable
Donna was my lei greeter
to pop stars
and stripes darling I did
not just
assimilate or
anthropologically speaking
acculturate I feathered
and flipped my
hair too flaunted my
fresh-off-the-
plane attitude in
Famolare platforms
polyester long-sleeve
shirts denim
bellbottoms oohing and
aahing twenty-
two times baby throughout
"Love
to Love You, Baby"
on the dance floor
rolled my eyes back to
Avila while fantasy
lovers guided me out of
fear and
longing for a home no
longer there
disco and Donna had taken
over
as my new world felt safe
and sexy
grooving to “Dim All The
Lights”
with my hands on my
secret crush’s waist
his hands padding my
shoulders
enough distance between
us to watch
the biting of our lips
before whispering
to each other the most
beautiful word
in the disco language –
“babe”
then there was that
afternoon in ‘79
Jeff choreographed a “Bad
Girls” number
to be performed on a
stonewall by me Julie
my sister Jing as three
die-hard hookers
on Hotel Street selling
love at half-off
because it was cheaper
than sorry
how we hey’d toot-tooted
and beep-beeped
danced and role-played
deep
into the night
worshipping you Donna
even after word got
around that disco
caused cancer and you
turned your back
on Adam Steve and Eve
your number-one
fag-and-hag fans still we
saluted you then
as I and the sun bow to
you now hearing
your voice in my head
singing “Could
It Be Magic?” after all
these years
what else could it be but
magic and arias
and endless oohs and aahs
of our almost-
gone glory here's to your
first day
of everness dear Donna
Patron Diva of
Our Unending Last Dance.
Reunion
—for Jessica Hagedorn and Ching Valdes
Before Jessica sent back
the chicken,
the black widow dropped
by to show
off her latest husband.
Then Ching arrived
bringing the latest
typhoon body count
from the motherland we
sometimes call
home. When the chicken
returned, Jessica
was already done dreaming
of Lorca
mingling with moths and
stars. I kept on
and on about
sleep-deprived evenings
in the Hamptons hitting
me hard it felt
like ten thousand vigils.
Then Ching
said: Life’s too short, we really should find
tables for more time like
this.
"Last
Dance" originally appeared in Anomalous
Press, an on-line literary journal, and Pop
Verite (Hanging Loose Press, 2017).
"Reunion"
is from Drive-By Vigils (Hanging
Loose Press, 2011).
*****
The Poet’s Notes on His Poems
"Last Dance" is
inspired by Jessica's works which showed me how to integrate pop culture into
the poem and elevate it to a poetic level. "Reunion" is one that I
dedicate to her and her dear friend, the actress Ching Valdes.
R. Zamora Linmark's
latest poetry collection is Pop Verite,
from Hanging Loose Press. Forthcoming is These
Books Belong to Ken Z, a YA novel. He divides his time between Honolulu and
Manila.
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