All Those Enduring Young Charms

It was in the wee early hours of March 18 that the guys sat down in front of their fake fireplace – having just returned home after their annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Everything had gone perfectly. The celebration at the Gay and Lesbian Center which featured Gus playing The Wearin’ o’ the Green on the violin and the after party at Gino’s had been outstanding in every way. But it was an odd unplanned part of the evening’s activity which dominated this fireside conversation.

“I didn’t know you were gonna sing, Taylor,” Brian began with a kind of question. “I was surprised. All these years and I never knew you were a singer ….”

“Well I guess I am a singer all right, Kinney,” Justin replied. “But I’m also smart enough not to give you any gratuitous opportunities to criticize so I never …. It was all Ethan’s fault. He heard me singing that song – it’s my favorite Irish melody - over at the Institute - and he got Debbie and Mikey and Jason to push me to sing, so I like – just did it – hoping that maybe you wouldn’t notice ….”

“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” Brian laughed. “You’d have been mad as hell if I hadn’t noticed. But did you have to pick out such a sad song? At least I think it was sad – it was hard to tell exactly what was going on in that song ….”

“Well, Mr. Kinney,” Justin explained. “You like – being 100% Irish – you should know that all authentic Irish songs are sad – the Irish being a very morose group of people – always seeing the dark side of everything ….”

“Yeah,” Brian challenged. “So what about When Irish Eyes Are Smiling? That’s not sad at all, Mr. Know-It-All.”

“But it’s not authentic either, Brian,” Justin defended himself. “That was written by those Irish folks who had to leave Ireland and come to America. They were so morose about that they had to fake being happy just to survive …. Dr. Finnegan over at the Institute calls those songs ‘the exile songs’ – Dr. Finnegan is as Irish as you are….”

“Well since you’re Irish too, JT,” Brian wanted to know, “how come you’re not morose like all Irishmen are supposed to be? Or are you?”

“I’m not all Irish, Sir,” Justin explained with mock patience. “I’m part other stuff too so that’s why I’m such a happy soul.”

“But you think I’m morose, do you?” Brian grinned. “Like all 100% Irishmen have to be?”

“So you might be - like – a special case, Bri,” Justin allowed, “since you always have me to cheer you up ….”

“And here I was thinking that maybe I really was always morose – like all Irishmen,” Brian conjectured, “just because I have you to …..”

“Always trying to blame me for your problems, Kinney,” Justin pouted insincerely. “You must really hate me ….”

“Actually, Baby,” Brian told him, “I don’t hate you at all – most of the time anyhow ….”

That statement must have confused Justin because he did not reply. But maybe he wasn’t all that confused either. Perhaps it was just a natural pause in the conversation – not unusual at all in their fireside chats.

“You wanna tell me what that song you sang was all about, Kiddo?” Brian eventually broke the silence. “You can even sing it again – if you want to ….”

“You like my singing, Brian,” Justin crowed. “I didn’t think you’d admit it.”

“I said you can sing it again if you want to, Taylor,” Brian admonished. “If you want to – that’s what I said - so shut up and sing ….”

And Justin did as he was told – the singing part of it anyhow. And he sang beautifully too – if you were to ask Justin – which Brian didn’t need to do.

“Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheek unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear;
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose.”


“Dr. Thomas Moore – who wrote those words,” Justin explained. “He married one of the most beautiful women in Ireland. Later on she got smallpox – which left her face all scarred. That bothered her and he wrote the poem to tell her that it didn’t bother him – that she was the same person that she had been ….”

“Well that’s not really a sad song then, Sweetheart,” Brian opined. “That’s kind of nice, I think – a nice sentiment ….”

“Yeah,” Justin agreed in part. “It’s a nice sentiment all right so it’s OK for them – but it’s like – sad for other folks – like us - her getting the smallpox and all ….”

There was another pause in the conversation at this point. The guys were thinking. And that’s what they were really doing this time – thinking – really …

“Hey, Brian,” Justin ended the silence by posing a question, “What would you do if I were somehow to lose all my endearing young charms? Would you feel the same as Dr. Moore did?”

“Geez, Taylor,” Brian replied. “That’s a tough question. Maybe I wouldn’t even notice ….”

“Now what is that supposed to mean, Kinney?” Justin told him. “Like – I could lose all my endearing young charms and you wouldn’t maybe even notice. That’s just a plain nasty thing to say. There’s no point in even trying to talk to you Irish guys. You’re always trying to be funny ….”

“But being 100% Irish,” Brian reasoned, “and condemned to a life of moroseness, what would be wrong about trying to be funny? Would you rather I just kept on being morose?”

“Forget it, BK,” Justin advised him. “There’s probably no hope for you 100% Irish guys. Brandon is 100% Irish too and Jason has the same problems with Brandon as I have with you ….”

“By the way, Sweetheart,” Brian smiled – while changing the subject slightly, “I guess Brandon does maybe have the same problem as I do. He didn’t know what your beautiful song was about either. If it’s all right with you – now that I am properly enlightened - maybe I’ll call him tomorrow and tell him what you told me ….”

“And take credit, I guess, for knowing it all along,” Justin smiled back. “Jason said you told Brandon that you knew what the song was about and that you’d tell him tomorrow because we were pretty busy with all the other stuff tonight . Well there’s no need at all to call Brandon about that. I explained the whole thing to Jason and he’ll tell Brandon ….”

“I guess I should have known,” Brian told him. “That’s Justin Taylor all right – doing what he does best ….”

“I guess I don’t have any endearing young charms at all, Bri,” Justin concluded – sidling himself up closer to the 100% Irish guy next to him.

“Yeah you do, Kiddo,” Brian wrapped his arm closer to the twink on his right. “You actually do have ….”

“And are you gonna tell me what some of them are?” Justin wondered as he placed his head on Brian’s shoulder.

“Nope,” Brian told him. “But I listed them all for Jason and Brandon - after you did your singspiel tonight - and Jason’ll surely tell you what they are tomorrow ….”

“I hate you, Brian Kinney,” Justin informed him as he rubbed his hair against Brian’s cheek.

“I know,” Brian responded, “but I guess I can live with that ….”

And Brian did not seem nearly as morose as his 100% Irishness would lead one to believe.

Note: There are several renditions of the song discussed in this story available on Youtube. One good version is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoicUiKQPGw
 

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