To celebrate Valentine’s Day this week, we present to you a poem from Erica Miriam Fabri’s Dialect of a Skirt.




Love in an Ice Cream Truck
Yesterday, I took a walk downtown. It was winter
everywhere, except for the inside of my mouth.
I saw an ice cream truck parked on 3rd Avenue.
The man inside drew me toward his window
with a whistle that reminded me of the noise
a peacock makes. He had good-looking lips,
which always gets to me, so I gave him an attitude,
“Who the hell’s gonna buy ice cream on a day
like today?” He didn’t say a word, but instead,
winked, opened the side door, kicked out a two-step
ladder and whispered, “Come in.”

Inside, everything was made of chrome. Rows
of waffle cones hung from the ceiling like Chinese
Lanterns. He pulled a sheet of brown paper
from a large roll and laid it on the floor. When I took
off his shirt, he had a tattoo of a racecar on his torso.
“Zoom, zoom,” I said, and we started making love.
He held my face in his hands as if it were a grapefruit
he was testing for ripeness, and he barely breathed.
 
When we stopped, the only noise was the purr
of a refrigerator. “There’s a man you love,
isn’t there?” he asked me.
“There is.”
“What does he do wrong, that made you
end up in here with me?”
“He doesn’t kiss me enough.” I said.
“Why don’t you leave him?”
“Because I like the way he sleeps.
And I like that he never prays.”
 
The moon crept into the truck like a thief.
“I have to go.”
He kissed me nine times from soda fountain to doorstep.
When I was almost a block away, he stuck his head
out the ice cream window and yelled: “Have you ever
seen a volcano?” I didn’t even look back. As I followed the
sidewalk south I heard his voice three more times:
“You are a volcano! You are a volcano! You are a volcano!”
__________________________________________________
For more on Erica Miriam Fabri:  ericafabri.com
To Purchase Dialect of a Skirt: Buy Here

Tags: Poetry

Lives: Brooklyn
What’s my thing: I’ll be your voice to the best independent films around the city.
Favorite quote: “You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?” Reservoir Dogs

My Love For NY and Becoming an Outsider:
I grew up on Staten Island, which, I know, technically doesn’t make me a true Outsider.  Although if you think about it, being from Staten Island is about as outside as you can get and still be from New York.  Like many kids growing up on that tiny rock, I had big plans, plans that didn’t include getting hitched and staying on Staten Island.  My school had a picturesque view of the Manhattan skyline and as I sat in math class I’d stare out the window and say to myself, “Someday, I’m going to live there.” My goal was to live in a loft in SoHo and be an artist.  

In the meantime, I had to settle for day trips into the city.  I was (and still am) very fortunate to have a cool older brother who made it his mission to teach me about music, art and film.  On my 12th birthday, he took me to see Hairspray (the original, not the cotton-candy musical that came out a few years back.)  While my friends’ older siblings were taking them to the mall, my brother was taking me into the city to see Reservoir Dogs.  As a result, I’ve developed a life-long love for independent movies, the more out there, the better!

The dream of living in Manhattan did come true by way of a tiny dorm room at NYU, but by the time I graduated, SoHo was no longer the center of the art world and Manhattan rent was a little out of my reach.  I eventually settled in Brooklyn, but one thing hasn’t changed.  I still adore my beautiful city.  Sure, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live someplace else, someplace quieter, less crowded.  But the minute I step off that jam-packed subway and onto the city sidewalk, I know I’m home.

Scroll down or click here for my first review of Fish Tank.

Tags: Tara Marli

"I'm here on Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn to begin one of my lazy afternoon  strolls..."

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Coney Island: "Vavavoom! I think it’s so great that there are girls out there willing to strut their stuff in true pin-up girl style..."

No, I'm not about to kick the bucket! But I am after much scrutinizing and contemplation, taking a job in Texas, which means sadly New York, I must take a leave of absence.

This list is in no particular order. Some of these places I have been to before, and some I want to make sure I go at least once before I leave. NYC is changing so fast, who knows if these places will still be around when I come back...


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Tags: Cindy

"I'm a 41 year old gay man in love with a 90 year old woman ..."

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Headed out with friends to Coney Island for one last summer hurrah on Labor Day. The impetus for the outing was the Pin-Up Girl Contest at Cha-Cha's that was part of The Third Annual Coney Island Rockabilly/Burlesque Festival... but we actually ended up spending most of the day sitting on Cha-Cha’s patio on the Boardwalk people-watching, soaking up the sun and drinking many beers. FANTASTIC! Another highlight of the day was riding on the Cyclone (which I said I would never do again because of the inevitable whiplash) and the fantastic junk food that abounds on the Coney Island Boardwalk. We did finish our day by catching the end of the Pin-Up Contest. Vavavoom! I think it’s so great that there are girls out there willing to strut their stuff in true pin-up girl style. I really hope that the essence of Coney Island never disappears, because it really is such a special part of NYC.

Tags: Cindy