Today we have a poem by Jennifer Ethington. It's a very cool reversal of traditional gender roles. Speaking of which, if anyone is going to the bakery could they pick me up some real gender rolls? The ones with cinnamon sugar please.
Ode to a Young Man in a Button-down Shirt
You make me want to do things that are stupid
Irresponsible
Driven by primal things
Subconscious things
That dirty bastard thing called “urge.”
I want to grind on you in uncatholic ways
Make you realize just how expert you are not
I want to hurt you
And not care if you enjoy it
I want to hear a knock on my door
And know
Just know
It’s you on the other side.
But you’d be stupid
And naïve
To think you’d walk away easily
You are blissfully unaware of the knot
You are hurtling toward
Thinking you can save me
From what? Myself?
Other men?
You mistake love and lust
One for another.
You’ll get caught up, little boy
You think you can just amble in,
Amble out,
No problem.
But one foot at a time
You’ll get stuck
Until you’re ensnared and can’t move.
Or maybe you’re stupid enough to think
I am the one who couldn’t walk away.
Perish it.
You fail to notice that I’ve been in control
All along.
I’ve played in ball games bigger and harder than this one
And I’ve conquered the field, Babe Ruth-style.
See, I play to win,
But,
Unlike you,
I don’t need the game.
