Still, now, here, a woman can never be in a bar the way
A man can be in a bar
A man in a bar blends in
Its varnish is part of him
Eyes skip over him
But stop at each woman not born
To this
(No woman is born to this)
This ease, this place, this church
Of ease
And if only she could burst through
Those swinging doors
Those white shuttered saloon doors
Like Elvis in Viva Las Vegas
And the smoke
Envelop her as if she belongs
And the desultory conversations
Struck are not male after male
After male trying his luck
If a woman could be in a bar
Alone the way a man
Can be in a bar alone?

Wes Lee

 

Wes Lee lives in New Zealand. Her latest poetry collection Body, Remember was launched in London (Eyewear Publishing 2017). She has won a number of awards for her writing including The BNZ Katherine Mansfield Literary Award and, most recently, as a contributor to Remembering Oluwale, winner of The Saboteur Awards Best Anthology 2017.

© 2018