ut　love　when　the　only

time　he？d　ever　been　in　love　was　with　Vanessa；　who　apparently　didn？t　qualify；　since　she　wasn？t

even　the　right　gender？　He　looked　over　at　the　clock。　One　a。m。　It　had　been　a　long　day　of　shelving

dusty　books　at　the　Strand　and　trying　to　hide　from　Greg。　Luckily；　their　shifts　only　overlapped　for　an

hour；　so　Dan　had　managed　to　pletely　avoid　crossing　paths。　He　dreaded　the　？special　talk？　Greg

said　he　wanted　to　have；　though　he　wasn？t　sure　how　long　he　could　put　it　off。

He　sat　up　and　a　flash　of　gold　text　caught　his　eye。　The　anthology　his　mom　had　given　him　three

nights　ago　was　perched　on　top　of　the　dresser。　With　its　black　cover；　the　book　was　almost

camouflaged　by　the　monochromatic；　gray　space？Vanessa　had　gotten　permission　from　Jenny　to

redecorate；　which　for　Vanessa　meant　making　everything　as　dark　as　possible？but　the　gold　title

twinkled　at　him　from　afar；　taunting　him。

Oh；　e　now；　you　know　you？re　curious。

He　reached　over　and　grabbed　the　large　volume；　plopping　back　down　on　the　bed　with　it。　Maybe

reading　some　gay　love　poems　would　help　inspire　him　to　write　a　straight　one？　He　cracked　open　its

stiff　binding。　The　first　page　was　the　introduction。

Homosexual　love　has　been　a　part　of　every　society　throughout　the　history　of　mankind；　from　the

Ancient　Greeks　to　modern　day。

What　was　this；　a　history　lesson？　Already　bored；　Dan　scanned　down　toward　the　end。

Read　the　poems　aloud　to　your　lover；　as　the　spoken　word　is　even　more　powerful　than　those

printed　on　the　page。You　will　feel　yourself　transported　by　the　undercurrent　of　beautiful；　corporeal；

HomoSensual　love。

Huh。　That　was　interesting。　He？d　always　found　it　helpful　to　read　his　own　poems　alou