Rev. Gerald Dillenbeck Poet Political Verse

Locker Room Talk

I don't recall all that much talk in locker rooms.
These are typically quiet as reflective libraries
unless involved in team sports.

Then locker room talk may review a well played game,
but, again, those played less fortunately,
less familiarly,
not really too much to say,
sometimes thinking of other more nurture feeding things,
nature people,
organically connected places in time's perpetually receding memory
and hairlines.

Testosterone rooms for locking up over yanged secrets
are not known for quality of multiculturally affluent speech.
These are more about shaming actions 
outside these locked down rooms,
reveling to reveal ourselves and others
an embarrassment of self-ridiculing riches.

But, I do recall
I thought I could hear which brand of sexual politics
a locker room voice would choose,
usually somewhere between
raping victims only good for bullying
and standing in solidarity with teams and leagues and games
where we learn more from losing together
than winning apart
in superhero myths and antics
of unfettered straight white self-supremacy,
hubris of engorged,
yet over-rated disengaged, 
es with hands for grabbing
taking what can only be intimately given 
as co-empathic gift.

In some ways
we are all locked rooms,
craving intimacy
that causes tremors
terrible trembling terror
and yet terror's opposite.

What names we have found for ecstasy
of unlocked talking and walking,
playing and working
and wondering how could peace sustain
through decades of morning and night time
dressing to undress routines
and all co-invested invitations 
in between
well-groomed body pleasure's 
mental wellness.

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DM Babbit October 15, 2016 at 12:23 PM I once thought the locker room talk was prone to hormonal teens venting frustration and desire. Men however gain wisdom with age and respect for women and life in general. But I guess, the bully never grows up. Interesting write and take. Rev. Gerald Dillenbeck October 15, 2016 at 6:15 PM Thanks much. yes, there does seem to be something about bullying and perpetual early-adolescence.