Description

Director's Note:
A Thing of Beauty: Free To Be Me

For the final installment of A Thing of Beauty, I chose a poem that has meaning to me beyond just the written and spoken word.

In 1848, at age 29, Walt Whitman visited New Orleans. There he met a man, and the two briefly became lovers. When Walt looked back on his New Orleans dalliance, he penned a poem titled "Once I Pass'd Through A Populous City," and it was branded "obscene" when published. However, even the published poem hid its true meaning.

In 1925, the original hand-written manuscript of the poem was discovered. It clearly showed that Whitman had changed the gender pronouns before the poem was published. Here is the original version -- a delightful poem -- capturing a moment of queer love from 160 years ago:


ONCE I PASS'D THROUGH A POPULOUS CITY
by Walt Whitman

Once I pass'd through a populous city imprinting my brain for future
use with its shows, architecture, customs, traditions,
Yet now of all that city I remember only a man I casually met
there who detain'd me for love of me,
Day by day and night by night we were together--all else has long
been forgotten by me,
I remember I say only that man who passionately clung to me,
Again we wander, we love, we separate again,
Again he holds me by the hand, I must not go,
I see him close beside me with silent lips sad and tremulous.

And here's the version that was originally published, with the changes in red:


ONCE I PASS'D THROUGH A POPULOUS CITY
by Walt Whitman

Once I pass'd through a populous city imprinting my brain for future
use with its shows, architecture, customs, traditions,
Yet now of all that city I remember only a woman I casually met
there who detain'd me for love of me,
Day by day and night by night we were together--all else has long
been forgotten by me,
I remember I say only that woman who passionately clung to me,
Again we wander, we love, we separate again,
Again she holds me by the hand, I must not go,
I see her close beside me with silent lips sad and tremulous.

Eight letters! It only took eight letters to kill the beauty of this moment in time. How humble, and sad, that this self-censorship killed the true nature of the poem. Sadly, even today many find it necessary to not allow our authentic selves to run free.

I know for RJ, Benny, and myself that some of our earlier creative attempts were filled with self-censorship, shifting genders, and a general gentrification of our true selves in order to make our work more "sellable" or more "widely accepted." Looking back on it, we can't help but want to indulge in the feeling that it was time wasted. But today we are free, or as the title of this installment of A Thing of Beauty suggests, free to be me.

None of this would have been possible without the wonderful support of our members and affiliates! Without you, A Thing of Beauty would not be possible -- thank you! This project has connected us to the true value of our work and, more importantly, the beauty of what we have and share together as a team and as a family.

Love always,

Jake Jaxon, RJ Sebastion & Benny Morecock

Description:
A Thing of Beauty has so far showcased some of the most passionate sex between men you'll see on film, and this addition raises the bar yet again. As much of a celebration of sex as it is an exploration, Part IV focuses on those particular moments in life that just can't escape us -- living in a new city, meeting someone special, diving head first (literally) into a new adventure, and the kind of deep sexual intimacy only experienced every so often.

Colby Keller, Gabriel Clark, and Dale Cooper share a chemistry with each other that perfectly illustrates one of these moments. They traverse a Mexican paradise as companions -- boating, swimming, discovering, and collecting memories in the same vein as Whitman. Their understood unity only becomes more powerful as it manifests itself sexually, exploding into a ravenous threesome back on the shore.

Colby and Dale's relationship is already wrought with real emotion and passion, but adding Gabriel to the mix brings that raw intensity to another level. At first, Colby and Gabriel took turns pounding Dale to their liking, but then Gabriel began fucking Colby while he was still inside Dale, and then the two finally double-penetrated Dale. Each moment is sexy in its own unique and glorious way, and not something you'll forget.