April 30th, 2008
The Bus
The Bus
by Arl Spencer Nadel
Young men on the bus
legs splayed wide
take up 2, 3 seats even,
Stare at you insolently
demanding their right
to take up as much space as possible.
Fat womon sits primly
Pulls in her folds
as tight as possible
takes up 1 1/4, 1 1/2
maybe 2 whole seats on the bus
ashamed, she stares out the window
and smashes herself even closer to it
if you sit next to her.
I’ve seen a full bus with boys taking up so much room
no one even dares sit beside them
forcing them to take the real space
their skinny bodies require
I’ve heard and felt the sighs, the looks,
of resentment toward the fat womon
squishing her soul into a tiny space,
making room for some
disgusted skinny person.
You know buses were made by white men
for money
so’s as many as possible can fit
on this cattle car for the poor.
And I know those white men
don’t ride them.
Fat latina womon and
small asian womon
sit side by side
one takes up two-thirds of the seat
the other’s legs dangle in the air
I’m looking at all of us trying to fit ourselves
into some white man’s image
I’m looking at all of us trying to survive
in this white man’s world
And I wish I had the chutzpah
to spread my legs and
let my beautiful fat body expand
let my arms fall to my sides,
to stare insolently at
the disgusted thin people
and not care.
______
From Sinister Wisdom #49, The Lesbian Body (Spring/Summer 1993) pp. 60-61.
