The Best Days

Don’t say I am perfect!
O god I loathe those words!
No, amore mio say instead
That me- the villain makes you smile,
And joyous and let out
That full-sails laugh of yours when
I wear my melodramatic hat
And pucker up your face when I’m kind
As if you just took a tremendous bite
Out of a lemon
And lets don’t box into a closet
Those of our vulgarities
Which made us choose each other!
Instead lets be primal and carnal
And tasteless
To flamenco because we both know
We can’t dance worth a damn
But wouldn’t it be charming if we could?
Come on and lie me the truth
And say you always wanted a portly prince
And let me paint you a moustache
With gelato
And pass the days with me sempre
Pretending to be penitent
For howling at the moon and scaring the neighbours,
Because we can’t get arrested for it
And we both know adversity is part
Poetry and part arousal
And anyway we throw all our chips in
Every single hand
Because we love too hard to wait things out
And why should we, amore mio?

Don’t Flatline

Wear that hat you like
With a shirt that doesn’t match
Sing while you walk
In the grocery store aisle
Don’t let the solicitors talk
At your door for longer than a minute
Don’t apologize
For liking too popular music
Enjoy the moment you realize
You’d been walking with your fly down
Breastfeed in public
If your baby is hungry
Win at scrabble
Get up and dance about it
Find out what scares you
Shout it out at the top of your lungs
Don’t pretend
You weren’t crying during the film
Don’t say “Oh well, I tried”
Swear, and resolve to do it better
Learn to pick ripe fruit
Then try one you’ve never had before
Don’t tell them you’re busy
When you’re just in a lousy mood
Get on the karaoke stage
They don’t matter and won’t remember
Call out a shitty painting
At some gallery or museum, if you think it
Never pretend to like
A wine or food you really don’t
Write schmultz
With no regrets or shame
Speak up about that woman
Who’s mistreating her dog
Put that bumper sticker
On your damned car, it’s not a temple
Stop taking selfies
Take photos of strangers
Don’t let your experience of living
Flat-line and own all your
Villainy and glory
Don’t let expectations dull your sharp
Don’t fear every misstep in mannerism
We’re not meant to be docile and complacent
We’re meant to be lightning and hurricanes
At least some of the time.

The Day It Changes

I will not, the world will not –

Neither side will surrender –

I shall remain as I am truly,

And not as prescribed for my gender;

Still I look longingly to that season

When, to be gentle and tender is not XY treason –

When cats, wine, poetry, and a love of conversation

Do not forever brand a man as a victim of castration.