Sphincter by Allen Ginsberg

The poem “Sphincter” by Allen Ginsberg caught my eye big time. It threw me off guard because of all the vulgarity and nasty images it brought to mind. I didn’t think that poetry could be written like this and I’m pretty sure there is plenty more poetry out there that is like this or worse in vulgarity than this. With the line, “Now AIDS makes it shy, but still / eager to serve—“ I thought this was very risky for Ginsberg to put in his poetry because people at that time weren’t very open-minded about homosexuality (10-11). The lines, “active, eager, receptive to phallus / coke bottle, candle, carrot / banana & fingers—“ were very graphic (7-9). These lines were basically describing what Ginsberg would, well, as gross as it may seem, shove up his butt for sexual pleasure. Ginsberg is clearly well open about his sexuality and is a figure in striving for gay rights.