The Alpha Beta Male

He dusts and does windows
comparison shops
can bake a cherry pie
served warm right from the sill

His whites are white
His colors sing opera

In his daydreams a jewel thief of hearts. . .

Dinner on the table promptly or else
And a piquant aroma it is
Smell those bay leaves
Cover and simmer
Arrowroot thickens the sauce
A mad dash of Parmesan
Voila!

Dates glance sidelong in vain
for signs of disarray
and leave early, feeling
outflanked? redundant? what?

While he was out his mother did not call

Like a sand dab surfing the Discovery Channel
he follows the stock market tides
all the while scratching at
his existential itch

Without surgery or prosthesis,
loin of his fragrant loins,
coupon clipper, redeemer extraordinaire—
he has become his own Little Woman

Hardbound books on either side of a double bed:

The Courage To Be Intimate
Shoot The Wounded, Hold The Guilt

klipschutz is a poet living in San Francisco. His poems have appeared in venues ranging from Poetry (of Chicago) to FUCK! (Tucson), along with many anthologies. His books include Twilight of the Male Ego and The Erection of Scaffolding for the Re-Painting of Heaven by the Lowest Bidder (o.p.). In 2006, through Luddite Kingdom Press, he issued the collectible All Roads. . .But This One.