Yeah Right

Yeah right

I had mats of tatami

and a cupboard of

futon

(but say it quick

like you can't wait to get

it out of your mouth

cause that's what they

do.

the

Japanese)

and I had a guide book which

told

me

TOKYO HAS THE THIRD BIGGEST

GAY SCENE IN THE WORLD.

But could I find it?

Hell no.

The first time I spent

hours

and

hours

flitting in and out of SevenElevens

speaking to hired help

who were no help at all.

Oh yeah, I got

smiles

good service

the lot.

But that's it.

That night I walked

home in the rain

alone.

Back at the house

the water dripping off me

I read the line again

in the guide book

again

in case I had been mistaken.

I hadn't.

TOKYO HAS THE THIRD BIGGEST

GAY SCENE IN THE WORLD.

That's what it said.

"Fuck you," I said.

And went to bed.

SORRY

futon

(real quick)

The second time I got lucky.

Kind of.

I met up with a group of

gay gaijin underneath the

F

A

L

L

I

N

G

cherry blossom in

Yoyogi park.

They were all arseholes

internet junkies

doughnut groupies

who called each other by their

handles

(yeah right)

and asked me if I liked

"sticky rice"

in their ridiculous voices.

but

I stuck with them for a while

and they showed me where to

go.

Only the next time I went

alone.

That's the way I operate

honey.

GBs was my favourite.

Gay Boys. Tokyo.

That's me.

Tokyo Tokyo Tokyo

TOKYO

(say it real quick)

That's me.

I got to know the barman

Shin

and I got to be going there every

Saturday night.

after my lessons

there I would be

sitting

at the square of the counter

my reflection in the mirror opposite

a beer in front of me

and everyone around me.

It was a popular place.

Japanese boys

men

and the rest.

I liked it there and I looked forward

to going

there.

I didn't often talk to people

cause it's not something I often

do.

But I was happy.

And people knew it.

One evening on a school night

a colleague said to me

after we'd watched a video.

I'm a bit jealous actually.

You're gay.

You can walk into a community

anywhere in the world.

It's difficult for straight men.

Yeah right.