Two Poems by Drew Pisarra

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.