unprepared

the unmitigated force of

his emptiness leaves her

speechless. ‘tell me what you think,’

a loaded question no one

wants answered. especially, if

this answer isn’t about me

and how we are going to live

happily ever after.

he is after all here to

save me from…

molded, our boys become warriors.

you specifically ordered a

gentle spirit who speaks softly to children,

brings you flowers on Tuesdays,

pays bills in full on time, with

perfect landscaping skills and a

lexus for your 35^th birthday.

football in hand,

rough and tumble grin adorning

his face, he is Adonis and

we get to keep believing in

fairy tale knights in shining armor.

there is no hero handbook.

he’s been making this shit

up all alone. no net

he leaps and prays he

lands. with feet firmly planted

near someone he can call home.

this is not a stand-by-your-man poem,

i have left more than a few.

this is not a why-i-don’t-need-feminism

poem, because i am and i do.

this is an equality-by-any-means-necessary poem

because i want equal-pay and equal-couch time.

i want your sadness measured by your tears.

and your happiness to include laughter.

i want you to not know and not feel that in not knowing

there is an inherit weakness. i want you

complicated and layered full of intricacies

with a full serving of creativity.

i want you human and whole because

that is what this revolution

has always been about, my brother.