Chicken Fight
S.K. Taggart
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I wrote this with football
on in the other room,
a masculinity I have forgotten
the rules to
no longer does it serve
me to pretend to be that boy
in football pads
on a sepia fall afternoon
throwing my body against
other, more committed boys
I think you understand me
in this, and still
we look at each other
as men, or at least
boys like the ones that used
to let me hold them
on my shoulders in the pool, thighs
squeezing my neck, those
determinate dicks pressed against
the back of my head, as I stepped
uncertainly forwards, towards
another pair half-undressed
in swimsuits like underwear,
teenage visions of an uncomplicated
world, trying to knock
the boy with the gorgeous
eyelashes down before
mine fell
__________
S.K. Taggart currently lives in Seattle and grew up in Western NY. They are vegan, sober and work at a craft beer bar. They swear they’re still a fun person in spite of those things.
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Posted in Pride: June '26 and tagged in #boudin, #poetry, Poetry