sure most bars have fire exits
but they are no less dire
or straight
sure no two bars are alike
some bars do open mic
and others poetry nights
but they all have the same fate
and are in the most dire of straits
and surely this is the saddest one
bar none
oh where have all the dyke bars retire
where are the women in gay attire
where the dynamo livewire
and mitochondria that power
houses whole families not nuclear
and homes away from home entire
and queer
oh birdcage is our last safe time i fear
the bank safe as vaults from male desire
on wednesdays though nights events and parties
are not brick and mortar bars but pyres
of heaven locked out and down prior
shine on
junipero biconic and other
meetings shinier than gala apples
brighter than swarovski crystals and more
glittery than disco balls mirroring
flashes of paid event photography but
dream big
bigger than liminal ritualised trances
or social dancing rites in transition
from sappho o clock to straight a m and
gay happy hours to last call for queer
beers woman wines vers vapes or switch cigs
aim high
higher than eventbrite tix big events
bright dj lighting bigger nights out or
even brighter dresses special makeup
occasion hairstyles and accessories
made for all tomorrows parties all next
weeks festivities all futures celebs
and all the worlds stages on dance floors lost
for ages but found bi monthly and off
happy hours to be missed waiting for our
next performance lined up and dress coded
come back
my dyke days gay nights and queer time
in a lack of safe spaces lez places
or homo homes where do dyke adjacent
women and nb folk go after hours
where are the l words before licensed
opening and sapphics after closing time
tell me
where are the femmes who inspire
me and the mascs whom i admire
where the fatales who plot conspire
and know how to change a tyre
or gear
and hold their wheel at ten and two steer
and drive a manual car or bike here
from lewisham wentworth point dulwich hill
clyde botany marrickville petersham
canterbury bankstown tuggerah rozelle
summer hill eastwood anywhere but near
they the ones who i aspire
to be
where does sappho play the lyre
where do girls play with fire
where do sirens sing in choir and
where do i inquire
god please
show me one dyke bar
not another dive bar
not another dine in bar
not another dime a dozen bar
not another dice roll or coin flip bar
not another dike to rock climb or another dike barrier
to hike
but a dyke bar not far and on par
with the best where a dyke walks into a bar
with a carabiner or the bell jar
and sees in the darkness a northern star