You Are Jeff

The road as a symbol of life is a common poetic trope, but here it represents the love life of gay men, mostly in its aspect of seduction and pursuit. The handsome men on motorbikes are described as “twins” because they share erotic desire and gay identity. The more experienced one leads—“farther up the road” (Stanza 1), “[w]orld-wise, world-weary” (Stanza 2)—while the other one follows, or perhaps chases him. Or maybe it is the same man, at times in pursuit, other times being pursued. He is in his element, comfortable with the erotic excitement of the ride. The speaker knows what makes the man happy: “Your speedometer and your handgrips and the feel of the road below you, how it knows you” (Stanza 12). However, there is a “hairpin turn” in the road (Stanzas 1 and 3), a moment of crisis or decision: will this joy ride become something more serious, and therefore emotionally riskier? The other man has “pulled to the side of the road and he is waiting for you with a lug wrench clutched in his greasy fist. O how he loves you, darling boy.” He also wants to sleep with you “chest to chest or chest to back, the covers drawn around you in an act of faith against the night” (Stanza 4).