The lights dim. The seats
fill with sequined
cowboys. Leatherdykes
circulate, lean against
the bar. Everyone
is here & everyone wants
to be here. The drinks
are strong & cheap
& named things
like desert rose
& cactus blossom.
They make the crowd
bloom. Green unfurls
at the tips of fingers
& queens swoop in, clean
up. Two dress like
Dolly Parton, four like
Loretta Lynn. The air
is thick with sweat
& bourbon. When the lights
come up, everyone
keeps dancing. Purses
stand abandoned. A pair
of false eyelashes
flutters, stuck to the back
of a chair. When
the queens stumble back
to their pickup trucks, heels
in hand, men are waiting there
to open their doors for them.
Patrick Kindig is an Assistant Professor of English at Tarleton State University. He is the author of the chapbook “all the catholic gods” (Seven Kitchens Press 2019) and the micro-chapbook “Dry Spell” (Porkbelly Press 2016), and his poems have appeared or are forthcoming in the American Poetry Review, Colorado Review, Washington Square Review, Copper Nickel, and other journals.