Villanelle for Straight Men
A cocky man always has something to say, sends a selfie with his shirt pulled up to his head. Tell it to my abs, he texts. Ego on display. A man like that leaves a sane person in dismay. He believes his words relieve women of all dread as he struts about with all his important things to say. At a reception, a friend tells me about the day a male poet thought he’d get her in his bed. Tell it to my abs, baby, he texts. Hubris on display. Tight body, bad attitude — solid F, not an A, I confess while we wait in line for the cheese spread. His abs are more interesting than his poetry, I say. An eavesdropper asks, He really treats women that way? A smug man’s words land with the weight of lead. Tell it to my abs, baby doll. Arrogance on display. A pompous man’s drivel turns women away. Incapable of reason, all his logic is long dead. A cocky man is never short of something to say. Tell it to my abs, he texts, a prick on full display.
Audio: Dustin Brookshire reads “Villanelle for Straight Men”
Dustin Brookshire (he/him) is the author of five chapbooks, including the forthcoming Contoured and the forthcoming full-length collection For All Of Us Faggots. He edited the Lambda Literary Award finalist anthology When I Was Straight: A Tribute to Maureen Seaton (Harbor Editions, 2024) and co-edited Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing, 2023). His poems have appeared in Five Points, Pleiades, South Carolina Review, among many others.
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