The Exegesis of Grease...

"The Exegesis of Grease, the Soundtrack" is loosely a Ghazal,which is an ancient Persian form of verse. Note the repetition of certain words. This poem was obvously inspired by the movie Grease, which happened to be on HBO that day. I happened to be reading a series of Ghazals written by Marilyn Hacker and thus I decided to write one as well. This poem was first published at Lodestar Quarterly, 'an online journal of the finest gay, lesbian, and queer literature.'

Issue 14 • Summer 2005 • Featured Writer • Poetry

The Exegesis of Grease, the Soundtrack

Neil de la Flor

In '78 [I fell in love with a mechanic] :: grease was the word.
Now I wonder what was the point of my virginity, that filthy word.

Violets, leather jackets, milkshakes, Lightnin'. Please, I offered,
I bought them for you. Symbols of 'fidelity' was the word.

Song written for the mechanic: Summer Nights. Thieves uncovered
Innocence, his filthy secret, i.e. his 'Sandy-dee-code-word.'

Beware! The life span of a diseased relationship is one generation.
Lovers of Beowulf, the title of my discography was the word --

Ex. Examine the lyrics of background noise. Suggest exegesis, interpretation,
Sound bites. I'm hopelessly 'devoted' to you! Devoted is such a silly word.

Take for instance, a mechanism, an unconscious reaction, unease when
A person faces a whipping. Imagine this willy-nilly word:

[Invisible ink.] By '79 he wasn't a greaser anymore -- a sleaze, a coward!
Never mind the bloodstain, the black eye, or his last Nazi word.