Poem by Suri Kautz
He
spreads his legs
as if to swallow
the whole world with his groin;
Man Spread
across the globe
a map laced with lines
like a butterfly’s wings
and between his heavy, greedy fingers
he squishes the delicate creature-
crumpling its frail, silk wings,
he will punch,
purple-knuckled and blood-stained shirt
until the femininity is gone,
until all that is left
is his very own
dark, laddish shadow.
And as the insect falls to the ground,
he reaches for her hand,
claims he loves her
but his breath reeks of empty beer bottles
left scattered on the table.
It is only a day later
that the empty bottles are no longer bottles,
but ale-stained glass shards
scattered across the floor,
like a map of anger
he follows-
He calls it ‘manhood’
when he brawls at bars,
because his Dad called it that too,
and with his trail
of shattered beer-bottles
he etches his name
into the ballot
to vote her rights away-
to claim her as his
between his heavy, greedy fingers.