Midtown

Midtown
Midway between downtown and not-downtown
Between queer and superficial
Banal and avant-garde

The halfway house for niche existence

Amongst the animals
Males perform vibrant plumage struts and songs
But it is my homeliness not my gender
That camouflages

An obstacle like the rush-hour traffic I am immaterial and unburdened

10th and Piedmont
Vibrant and alive with little queer quanta
Electric charges that flow in an alternating current
Unintentionally affirming that the property values have been properly appraised

The self-proclaimed hip side of the city

When I was in grade school
I had a mail-order ant farm
And from the vantage point of a god
I learned about hierarchy and cooperation

Now, from the vantage point of a ghost I learn about pride and distraction

I don’t know whether or not I have a people
But these are not my people
The unapologetically wealthy/shamelessly yuppie
The queerer-than-thou

No, I am not of them, merely among them

Yes, I am envious

And oh how I cherish these moments of anonymity