I’ll Laugh Everywhere, Weep Where I Can

They say I’m easy to fool.
That I buzz like a bumble bee.
That I don’t care for work and order.
That I roam around and waste my time.
That I greet dawn at–night parties.
That I spend my days joy riding.
That I drink gin standing up.
That I pee that way too.
They say I talk too much.
That I chatter all the time.
My tongue flickering like that of a snake.
That it’s time for someone to cut it off.
That I could use a punch in the mouth.
That I ought to be pinned like a fly.
They say I must have thick skin
To do what I do.
They say that I’m a tease.
That I flirt shamelessly with somebody else’s
Lovers and husbands.
That even doing it with a woman is fine with me.
Some floozy and some bitch are telling everybody
That I take young boys for a walk
And pluck feathers out of doddering old men.
That I never give any of it for free.
They say that I’ve gone soft in the head.
That I complain about everything.
That I laugh as if I had a screw loose
If something doesn’t please me.
That I sob like a three–year–old child
Wherever I happen to be.
And I tell them in turn,
I’ll laugh everywhere, weep where I can.
Life is candied fruit and vinegar,
I add them to my verses in equal amounts.
My syntax is like tuning of an organ inside the veins.
I burn with a heart 500W strong.
The truth is, I can’t warm anyone, but I can burn
With my tongue
Which I don’t wash or scrub with Brillo.
Whatever I cook up I eat.
Often I was scorched and left unhealed.
Still, I’m no fish on dry land,
Although on dry land I fish for men
With the corner of my eye, the length of my skirt,
Carp fattened with lust
Ready to be caught.
I don’t deny it. That’s what I do.
I don’t give a hoot for all that tittle–tattle
Tangled around my name
Like swamp thistle around reeds.
Above me is the sky, that’s where I look,
And stars which I cannot gather.
Nor do I want to.
Let them multiply all they want to.
Let them couple and breed.
Let it be like that then.