Contemporary Poetry

: a web symposium  |  Spring 2006

Samantha Pittman
Cocktails Graywolf Press, 2004

D.A. Powell’s third book, Cocktails, is widely regarded as his best work yet. Cocktails was released in 2004 and completes the trilogy of the 2000 releases, Tea and Lunch. Cocktails, like his other books feature common themes of loss of friends, innocence, self, and belief. Powell draws from his own life for his writings and focuses on ‘growing up gay and uneasy in the age of HIV- and about living with the virus himself’ (http://www.graywolfpress.org). His poems are original, abstract, and tackle taboo sexual subjects.

Powell titles his poems in a very unique way, the titles of all his poems except two double as the first line of the poem and are always bracketed. The first poem that shows some of his common themes and tackles taboo homosexual relationships is [dogs and boys can treat you like trash. And dogs do love trash]. At first the poem could appear as a bad break up between a heterosexual couple. However, the second to last line shocks the reader and shows that it is a homosexual couple. The poems title is cliché as ever. Dogs are commonly referred to as mans best friend. Here the speaker talks about his sexual relationship compared to the relationship with this animal. Dogs tend to be loving, and offer comfort. In stanza four the speaker talks about how a dog will “crawl into bed on all fours / and curl up at your toes. / he’ll give you his nose. / he’ll slobber on cuts” ( Powell, 14 lines 7-8). He refers to the dog as “fixed” (line 9) implying the dog knows his job and purpose and is more than willing to fulfill it. The speaker then starts comparing his relationship with mans best friend to the love he desires. He says boys “ are fickle when they lick you. / they stick you with twigs / and roll you over like roaches. / then off with another: those sluts” (lines 3-4). That line leads the reader to believe the poem is not a bitter end to a heterosexual relationship, but an end to a homosexual one. The ending stanza confirms that with “ when a boy goes away: / to another boys arms./ what else can you do / but lie down with dogs” (lines 13-14). The speaker is obviously experiencing the pains of someone they loved choosing to leave them and feels that his dog gave him much more of a friend and lover than his relationship did.

A second poem where Powell flirts with being “politically incorrect” is [when you touch down upon this earth. little reindeers] (Powell, 17). Again, the title is the first line of the poem, and doesn’t offer much about what the poem is going to be about or where it will lead. This poem features what is assumed to be a boy at the age of 17 during the holiday season questioning his sexual experiences. The speaker looks back on his gifts from last holiday, but wishes for something different. (line 5). “ you gave me my first tin star and my first tin wreath / warm socks tangerines and a sloppy midnight kiss / I left you tollhouse cookies” (line 4-6). “ I like the sweater. / though it itches / but whats the use of being pretty if I wont get better?” (lines 9-10). The speaker here is acknowledging the gift but questioning his feelings. Earlier in the poem the speaker alludes to a previous sexual experience saying “ you left me bloody briefs” (line 6). And in these lines questioned those feelings as if it was a disease or sickness that would just go away. In Powell’s own life he realized he was attracted to other boys when he entered high school, and by sophomore year realized his homosexuality was out of the norm. The age of the speaker here is convenient in the fact that 17 is high school years. One could argue that the poem reflects Powell’s our confusion at this point in his life.

A third poem [19 lines] features an older speaker making a conscious decision to sleep with a lover who admittedly has said one of his past lovers has tested positively assumingly for AIDS. In [19 lines] the speaker gives into lust, and takes a risk. [19 lines] is one of the two poems in the book where the title is not the opening line of the poem. There is no obvious reason why this is, the only reason one could assume that this title makes any sense is because the poem in 19 lines long. The poem features two men in a random meeting at a bar. The speaker is experiencing a stranger hitting on him at a bar in lines 12 and 13. “ the pitch and roll of a bed crosses my mind. / how to end this groping beneath the formica table: nobody walks away” The stranger hits on the speaker by in a sense “feeling him up” under the bar. The speaker responds by “more drinks on the mastercard” (line10). The dilemma in the poem arises when the stranger is sitting with the speaker, “ a stranger comes to sit with me: we both light up / he’s had a lover test positive / his lips find my neck/” (lines 16-17). The speaker is faced with making the safe decision and walking away or giving into his lust and leaving with the man. The speaker ends the poem abrupt but strongly eluding to his decision, “ I consider the risk of each part I want / there is a covert exit. / a cab waiting / I sign for us both.” (lines 18-19). The speaker knows there is a way to leave politely, but also knows there is a cab waiting. Throughout the poem the tone sets the reader up to believe that “I sign for us both” refers to the earlier mention of the drinks on the speakers Mastercard, and them exiting together.

The last poem is called [college roommate gone: his hamper full. I’ll do us both a favor]. This title, again, is the first line of the poem. However, different from past poems this title gives a good idea of what the poem is going to be about. The speaker of the poem fantasizes about his college roommate, he happens to be away, and indulges himself in his dirty clothes covering his fantasy up with “favor”. The speaker has admittedly watched his roommate carefully in line 7 and 8 and he says “ I know how to fold his t-shirts / how they smell before and after.” The speaker fulfills his fantasy by “building a model of him. Clothes in white undies / starched where he’s starched and softened where he’s soft / I use his favorite bounce.’ (lines 10-12). The speaker obviously has spent a lot of time around this person taking in every little detail possibly. The poem holds a feeling of intense stalking, and almost creepiness.

In conclusion, D.A. Powell uses his book Cocktails, to explore and explain the feelings of homosexuality in today’s society. The book, which is divided into three sections, Mixology, Filmography, and Bibliography all reflect homosexuality in their respected fields and as a part of Powell’s own life. Powell gives a personal account of stereotypes surrounding homosexuals and how they live, confirming some and questioning others. His works are abstract and at times leave the reader open to conclude what they wish while others are straightforward and are clearly out to make a statement. His book is bold and bravely open, just as its writer.