Two Poems By Drew Pisarra

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There are numberless ways to fail,
to make a break, to cause a crack.
to cry, to weep, to sob, to wail,

to exit, to vacate, to bust, to bail,
to go with no chance of coming back.
There are numberless ways to fail,

to make light without jokes, to regale
with no laughs, to dress in black,
to sob, to cry, to weep, to wail,

to not make a sound, to just turn pale,
to experience loss, to register lack.
There are numberless ways to fail,

to bruise, to rot, to sour, to end up stale,
to lose the power, to pucker, to slack,
to weep, to sob, to cry, to wail,

to astrologically veer off-track
into the doom of an alternate Zodiac,
your moon in the house of the snail;
your sun in the year of the yak.

Factors

Most men I date get incredibly fat.
You, in contrast, grew so terribly thin.
I cannot decide what to make of that.

Must I be the wife to your Jack Sprat?
For here I am with a double chin.
Most men I date get incredibly fat.

Most men I drop at the drop of a hat.
Most, I push out. You, I’ve pulled in.
I cannot decide what to make of that.

Look at me: plump as a spoiled housecat.
This realization sends me into a tailspin.
Most men I date get incredibly fat.

Am I now most men? Is this tit for tat?
Is karma comeuppance? Is weight gain a sin?
I cannot decide what to make of that

while spooning fudge ice cream out of a vat.
Dark chocolate emerges as my carnal sin. 
I cannot decide what to make of that.
Most men I date get incredibly fat.

Drew Pisarra is the author of two sonnet collections, Periodic Boyfriends and Infinity Standing Up; two short story collections, You’re Pretty Gay and Publick Spanking; and two radio plays, The Strange Case of Nick M. and Price in Purgatory. He also wrote a poetry collection devoted to one of his favorite filmmakers: Fassbinder: His Movies, My Poems. You can follow Drew at @mistermysterio on Instagram and BlueSky.