- Simon Maddrell
As if every sequin represents a speck of darkness
By Simon Maddrell
after Caroline Bird
One Club Fits All Dress Codes
no flip-flops allowed
except in the dark room
only masc. masks
no flip-flops allowed
no sequin masks or sequinned mascs.
only masc. masks
even in the dark room
no femmes or sequinned mascs.
or glittered balls
no make-up mirrors
no slap on the face
no glitter balls
except on the dance floor
no opening up
no made-up mirrors
except on the stage
no spreading legs
even on the dance floor
no splash on the face
no opening legs or spreading lips
except in the dark room
no slap on the face
no slip of the masc.
One Club Fits All Darkness
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Simon Maddrell is a queer Manx man, thriving with HIV and living in Brighton & Hove. He’s published in fourteen anthologies and numerous publications including AMBIT, Butcher’s Dog, Stand, The Moth, The New European, Morning Star, Perverse, Dawntreader and Long Poem Magazine. Simon’s debut, Throatbone, was published by UnCollected Press in July 2020. Queerfella jointly-won The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition, 2020. He is one of three poets in the Nine Pens Press anthology, All About Our Mothers (Jan. 2022). Twitter: @QueerManxPoet Facebook: @SimonMaddrellPoetry Instagram: @simonmaddrell SoundCloud: @simonmaddrell