Aidan Chafe
Toy Soldier
They prescribed me a tractor
and a box full of hammers
and said find your true passion
in all that testosterone.
I broke myself instead.
When I eventually repaired
I was lost. Now I can only find
myself when I am lost. Today
I find myself bringing you home
a croissant and a poem.
They say every man is born
with a kingdom of bunny rabbits
inside of him. Every day he must
resist the impulse to kill one.
Whenever I am sad I wrap myself
in a tight blanket of fists.
When I was 14, two boys peed
on me in the locker room showers
like dogs marking territory.
A girl opened the door for me
this morning. A homeless man
offered me a hug.
At the park I saw a child
decapitate a toy soldier.
I recognized myself in his smile.
Our ancestors brought
home sabre tooth tigers.
I ate your croissant. All I have
to show you are bits of poem
stuck between my teeth.
