Texas Boys in Drag

Texas boys in drag walk fast,
wear wide skirts, for running,

say “ma’am” to the woman
who sells them cigarettes

and stop in their walk downtown
for two college girls with a flat.

Texas boys jack up the car
the way their daddies taught ’em,

wipe thoughtless hands
on second-hand club clothes.

Where they go, dirt doesn’t show
and strobe lights sequin them in beauty,

but how long a walk—
past neon cowboy boot,

old vaudeville hall,
knuckles cracked outside

a frat-boy saloon—
how long a walk

through a loaded town
for Texas boys in heels.

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GINNY WIEHARDT‘s work has appeared in journals such as Crab Orchard Review, Notre Dame Review, PN Review, and Spoon River Poetry Review. She has an MFA in Poetry from the Michener Center for Writers and has enjoyed residencies at Hedgebrook and Jentel. Read more about her work at ginnywiehardt.com.