Alex Gildzen

















BODY PARTS
 
 "from top to toe I sing"
 
 Whitman

 
 
 
Guy Madison's Hair
 
a forest
for fingers
to linger
in
 















Johnny Depp's Eyes
 
turn coal
into gems
 
 













Owen Wilson's Nose
 
let me slip
down it
then climb
back up
 
again
 
 













Calvin Lockhart's Ears
 
my tongue
never tires
in there
 
 
 











Jude Law's Lips
 
this map
to ectasy
makes
travelers
of us
all
 















Rupert Everett's Chin
 
the hillock
that anchors
his face
harbors lust
that zooms
from him 
to me









 
 





Leslie Cheung's Neck
 
long
slow
glide
 
to ah
 
 













Aldo Ray's Chest
 
have you ever
playd in a garden
& never wantd
to leave?
 
 
 











Joel McCrea's Armpits
 
whether hirsute
or not
his suit
me fine
 
 













Jeff Bridges' Back
 
latissimus dorsi in carrara:
to look at
 
but to feel:
warm apple pie trapezius
 
 
 











John Bromfield's Navel 
 
an urn
which earns
my sweat
 
 













Sal Mineo's Pubis
 
such ache
that arch
causd
 
my body
knew
before
I did
 
 













Gael Garcia Bernal's Ass
 
I'm an astronaut
planting a flag
 there
 















Alexis Arquette's Cock
 
wait
 while I 
invent
 a new language
 
 
 











Brad Pitt's Thighs
 
I cd spread
a picnic there
 
feast of juice
& tender meat
 
I cd lick
the flesh there
 
then wipe lips
knowing I will
 
remember his name
 















George Nader's Knees
 
islands
 on an oblong map
that snaps open
 when
I dream 
of boyhood
 
 













Tab Hunter's Legs
 
another list:
all the tasks
I ask
them to tackle
 
 













Richard Harrison's Ankles
 
o
the 
vowels
they
offer
 
 
 











Hugh Dancy's Toes
 
make me
want to dance

Like many poets before him Alex Gildzen has used the facts and foibles of his life as fodder for his work. As early as 1970 he wrote Dec. ‘70: Ohio, a forerunner to his first major publication, The Year Book (North Atlantic Books, 1974). (Read more…)

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