Picking up my half-drained cup,
I measure a man's attractiveness
by how fast I load up.
I gauge each man's laughter by its tone and decibel:
a donkey bray, a cat growl/purr, my God—
this one's a turkey cackle!
I count missing molars, missing strands;
I check the whiteness of his teeth and how the smell
of cigarettes lingers on his hands.
I wonder what tiger taught him how to eat
and how many nights before
I know the color of his sheets.
I'm five pints down when his past butts in.
(Far too soon!) Discussing your exes
on first dates is a 200-proof sin.
Fifteen paces from this table to the door.
How many messages will he leave,
will I ignore?
Belt-size, shoe-size, inseam, how many years,
measurements mean nothing. (Chagrin.)
What's on my mind can't be bottled, I fear.
Soul won't fill my pint-cup,
and won't fit into that pair of 501s,
which he's forgotten to button all the way up.
Want to review or comment on this poem?
Need a FREE Reader Membership?
Reviews of "Measuring a Man"
Reviewed by Flying Fox Ted L Glines (Reader)
Reviewed on January 6, 2007
Just beyond innocent and just short of steamy ... a very good write, indeed! Nice work!
Certainly in the world of the homosexual there is a plethora of rules that are inclusive to dancing around, and inbetween, the often insensate pyres of mist. Ofttimes these dances are embellished upon by each individual as an extension of personality.
Of course then, in the world of the heterosexual, these kinds of insights are just as unrestrained and convoluted, especially when one is playing the field.
My blessed wife and I are often given to helping each other see the other through the eyes of how we are seen and interpreted in the convoluted mindsets of others.
Martin Powers wanted an ironing board for Christmas. Instead, he got . . . Matthew Kieler, a non-returnable gift, but a gift that kept on giving. A powerful tale of survival, compassion and unapologetic love in the time of AIDS.
Martin Powers wanted an ironing board for Christmas. Instead, he got . . . Matthew Kieler, a non-returnable gift, but a gift that kept on giving. A powerful tale of survival, compassion and unapologetic love in the time of AIDS.
A young technician mourns his lover until he meets another man - a man with a secret. But there are other secrets as a jealous ghost returns to protect his turf.
Share
Print
Save
Follow
Ted
____________~501~69~_____________
"I wonder what tiger taught him how to eat"
My lesbian equivalent VINTAGE DENIM
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewpoetry.asp?id=164963
Mullaney's MEASURING A MAN, Sweetwater's VINTAGE DENIM playing pocket tag with the coin flap and popping rivets!!!
Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist
Of course then, in the world of the heterosexual, these kinds of insights are just as unrestrained and convoluted, especially when one is playing the field.
My blessed wife and I are often given to helping each other see the other through the eyes of how we are seen and interpreted in the convoluted mindsets of others.
Light and Wisdom ...
Richard Lloyd Cederberg