poem of the day 09.27.12

the scene at cookie’s clubhouse

we were both tired of being white

tired of punk rock

tattooed white idiots screaming into microphones

tired of summer nights in pittsburgh

we wandered down penn avenue

down to the black bar

because the music emanating from the place

was something that we both loved

and inside it was packed with bodies

jostling to music or just standing around

there were no white faces in the joint

just purple neon and joy

and this pleased us

so we went inside with our petty little fears

only it wasn’t like the movies

the music didn’t screech to a halt

no one turned our way

there were no rows of angry, suspecting faces

mad at us for killing their buzz, their good time

as we made our way toward the bar

just people singing along to d’angelo

and then tony toni tone

not an ounce of flaccid punk rock bravado in the joint

tattooed jackoffs screaming into microphones

no import beer

just budweiser in cold cans

which we drank at the bar

as nervous as two white boys in a black bar could be

but there was really nothing to be nervous about

just music and dancing

and conversation about another wasted pirates season

talk of the end of summer

talk of football

and we stood there decidedly white

decidedly not punk

when these two girls and a guy took pity on us

had us play darts with them

as tony toni tone morphed into blackstreet

morphed into johnny gill

and we looked at each other with wide eyes

because some bar was finally playing all of the music

that we listened to

in our white heads on black nights in the city

and the guy kept calling me ace ventura

his girlfriend said that he thought that i looked like jim carrey

maybe i did

jim carrey was a fine thing to be on a summer night

playing darts and drinking beer in cookie’s clubhouse

jim carrey probably got a lot of pussy

without the perils of color and punk rock

and i remembered you turned to me and smiled

whispered how much you’d like to date the other girl

if only

if only what? i said back

forgetting what city we were in

what time and place

which is forever that time and place

in america.