my long memory practices
toxic masculinity and social distancing
i hoard
betrayals and
transgressions
like items needed
in a pandemic
slights
and caustic comments
i store them away
for later use
i have a long memory, motherfucker
and a short fuse
so the other night
when you called my wife
a cunt
outside our bedroom window
because she asked you nicely
to keep your voice down
or move it down the street
and you acted like
the king of the macho world
shouting and preening and prancing
…until i showed up
i got that kept right here
little misogynistic man
close to me
for that time
when this is all over
and you and i
meet
in the hallway
in the laundry room
on the sidewalk
in the street
when you don’t know
what’s coming
when you’ve moved on
to verbally assaulting another woman
when you’ve forgotten who i am
and i come down
on you hard
like you said it to her
only
yesterday.
--John Grochalski
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