House of Geisha/for Michael
An invitation to the drifters
Waifs and strays / gay runaways
Come into this house
A temple for rites or wrongs
Passion for safe passage
Let burdens exhale in this sinner’s retreat
A haven of heaven where judgment is vice
The world deemed you shameless
some crucified / twice
Scoured your souls clean / baptized the Jesus out of you
Nigger, dyke, faggot, slut, whore, vixen, victim, hopeless, homeless, insane, guilty
Nameless / blameless / obscene
The burlesque dancers, the striptease heathens, the fools of finesse
The charmers, the rebels, the renegades / the gnomes who write poems
Bad apple seeds / sweet tarts / black hearts
We God’s gang
Come into this house / find beauty for ashes
Claim your fame
red ink