Strip Joint

Up on the stage,
Naked
And bared
For the lecherous masses,
No G-string to hide
The soul's ghastly imperfections.
Invited with a
Suggestive sobriquet
To the spotlight
For a brief seductive dance
With the cold,
Uncaring pole.
And the
Voyeuristic audience,
Getting
Drunk on words,
Leers
Unknowingly at me
And marks their
Appreciation
With
Half-hearted applause.
...But...
No one ever puts
Dollar bills
In my pages.

---

Originally written:    January 3, 2006
Put online:    January 15, 2006
Discussion:    This piece was inspired by a comment which was made in passing between poems by Tom Baas, a local poet who was reading at Poets' Monday on January 2. Beyond that, the general idea was influenced slightly by Tool's "Hooker with a Penis." The final, perhaps strongest, influence was the whole of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Specifically, throughout that album (and movie), there is a pervading sense or feeling of disdain towards the audience. Now to the meaning of the poem. I believe it's fairly easy to figure out. It is scary up on stage reading words that I have written. It is very different from the medium that you are currently reading. Particularly for me, since my work is so incredibly personal, I feel very vulnerable up there, naked, baring my most inner self. Much more so than I do in the typed word. It's one thing to have a computer screen staring back at you; it's a very different thing to have a room full of people staring back at you...alone, on stage, in the spotlight. I should note, however, that I do not feel disdain towards those who listen to me read, nor should the final three lines be taken as being whiney. It is what it is. It is simply a fact. I receive no monetary compensation to read, nor do I expect such.


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