The Hometown Boys
When men attempt to turn a nowhere place
To poetry, the nowhereness bleeds through.
The problem is the peopled childhood face,
Once known, is sentimental, not quite true–
If true at all. The boredom is ignored
The way a woman does her best to tell
Her man his failure penis (which has gored
His lovers like a Muslim infidel)
Ain’t up to snuff with her, but never mind
Because some other time she might be hot
Enough (if taken, hunching, from behind).
The little boyhood town is not quite naught.
Some splintered tiny bits of it might shine,
But it will never make a sonnet shrine.
~ Phillip Whidden
by phillipw | Feb 18, 2025 | BO, CH, SE |