Manganese What is it about short men whose faces beam energy and effort like dying suns? Why do their grins show comic traces of powerplays and who are you trying to fool with steel-toed elevator shoes that boost you high enough to kiss? How come you default to denim and crewcuts? Whose mad idea was that? And what of the gum you chew in eternal adolescence? Does this explain your metabolic rate, delinquent drive, and tireless tumescence? For though not tall, you’re still a lot to take: a suitor whose come-ons won’t be reduced by his height and crows once I am seduced.
Silver La creme de la creme? Not quite. Even so, I desperately wanted this thing to work. It’d been eons since I’d given a go to a longshot prospect minus the smirk. You were not my first choice. I was not yours. So what? A runner-up merits respect. Regardless, our pipedreams expired swift, for the heart is not ruled by the intellect. Not that our shared intentions weren’t strong, not that we undervalued sleeping spoons, not that someone did the other one wrong, not that this was it. This was naught. I soon had to admit that the wandering eye wasn’t yours alone. I too was that guy.
Drew Pisarra is the author of Infinity Standing Up, a collection of queer love sonnets published by Capturing Fire Press, and You’re Pretty Gay, a book of short stories published by Chaffinch Press. He’s also a literary grant recipient from both the Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation and Curious Elixirs: Curious Creators.
Grand Little Things 