the YMCA steam bath

my wife

tells me that we need more friends

to invite to the party.

friends

of color, she says,

you know.

brown, black, Hispanic

Asian.

maybe find a transgender

or two.

all our friends

are white,

pale, and pasty.

and most of them are straight,

without piercings

or tattoos.

we need to diversify.

don't you play basketball

with some

of these kinds

of people?

i tell her yes, but, wouldn't

it be a little

strange to do this?

i would like you to meet some

gay people too, she tells me.

would you mind

going to the YMCA next week

to use the steam bath?

and then

to the parade for the gender

confused.

no, i'm not doing that.

what's wrong with you?

are you out of your mind?

calm down, she says, calm down.

i just think that we need to fit

into the world

better, i don't want us to

appear

unwoke. you know?

people are starting to talk

about us.