a little shop of kinks

when i was 15
i had my belly button pierced

my cool ass mom
took me and my best friend renee
to permanent productions
a tattoo and piercing shop
owned by
the da vinci of body modification
in cincinnati

down on hamilton avenue

northside

the little rainbow flag bedecked
neighborhood

where my brother
would die of aids
three years later

my mom signed for me to get the piercing
she watched with delight
as mike pinched with triangular forceps
then shoved the needle through my skin

but my mom is where i get my wild

this was long before the aerosmith video
with alicia silverstone getting pierced
in a grunge plaid shirt
with her long white girl hair
that spawned a million
middle class girls to emulate her

i found this little boutique downtown
on race street
after i started to drive
called

a little shop of kinks

it was a gay clothing
sexual fetish
and art deco antique store
with the best selection
of body jewelry in town

sometimes renee and i
would take mom with us
when we went shopping there

we would peruse
the sex toy
side of the store

cages
enemas
cuffs
clamps
ball gags
a trapeze
sex swings
leather daddy
and bondage apparel
paddles
whips
and the biggest selection
of dildos you’ve ever seen

one day
my mom held up
a giant natural skin dong
approximately three feet long
and ten inches in diameter
at eye level

and queried loudly
in her southern kentucky accent

“Well, what in the hell do you need a root that big for?”

we died laughing
and i had never loved her more