It’s Thursday night
and I have my group.
Aaron leaves before me
for his meeting
and he kisses me goodbye.
Other Aaron,
the Aaron that we share,
that Aaron messages us both
about loneliness and homophobia.
Mark messages me about my Aaron’s former employers.
I see that Michael is in town and let him know
I’ll be in the village around nine,
near Stonewall,
on Christopher Street.
Christopher calls me on the train
and though the timing is down to the wire
I tell him I’ll stop by if I can.
Poetry pours out of us in faster than usual process.
Michael can see me but I meet him at his hotel near Times Square
to be closer to Chris’s Washington Heights.
We go to Blazing Saddles, Rise past Posh / Industry
to Ivy because the straighter crowd isn’t obsessed with RuPaul.
He drinks margaritas. I drink whiskey.
We talk about our decade old relationship;
how he had fallen for me before I had fallen for him,
only much too late – such terrible timing,
but at least we’re friends now!
We talk about Mark, who messaged me earlier,
how our relationship / friendship extends over years,
and I told him about Aaron / Aaron & Christopher.
I walked him back to his hotel with a quick kiss
and a big hug
before catching the A train (from 42nd to 175th)
where I stumble
sleepily to Christopher’s new apartment
and we crawl through someone’s bedroom window
to take in the remarkable view.
Later he tells me about life
and we trade stories before I stumble home
in the dark Friday morning.
Saturday, Aaron drives Michael & I to
the New York City AIDS Memorial.
Michael saw “Afterglow” the night before;
a wonderful play filled with naked men,
and believe me, I’ve seen them.
We walk to the Stonewall National Monument in Christopher Park,
the Stonewall Inn, past the Ad Hoc Collective Cafe
(where my poetry meetings are held),
past PIECES and then catch a train down to Chinatown & Little Italy
so I can get some jewelry.
Later we head to Central Park by way of Marvel headquarters
and the Columbus Circle Shops to meet some of his friends
who we somehow never connect with.
We walk to the Bethesda Fountain
which we love because it’s in “Angels in America”
and it’s where the Avengers parted ways…
before heading back to Columbus Circle so he can attend
“Naked Boys Singing” and I can catch a train back to the Heights
so I can shower, put on something warmer and go meet Aaron
and several of our friends for a birthday celebration
in Jock Douchebag Heaven
which as it so happens,
ends up being in the Meatpacking District.
Written by Jason Wright
April 15, 2018