One Shot: pride, in the men's room

a man stands at the urinal staring
even though a copy paper
sign taped across its mouth reads

OUT OF ORDER

as if his last hope is a flush
that just got rolled by four deuces
& even though it goes
against guy bathroom protocol
eyes level i ask:

hey buddy, you ok?

& he grunts and goes on staring
the stare that guys get when
they think they can handle all the
junk they been carrying as if
it were some ritual to prove you
could wrestle a grizzly, if called upon
or that manhood were me-
assured by the amount of shit
you can take and still keep your
mouth shut, until the paint peels
in long strips from your sanity
as it claws its way out, i been there,
but i know, so i say:

alright then, have a good day

& as i head out the door
the air freshener hisses its con-
demnation in a spray of antiseptic
floral scent, which is super manly,
but even that won't cover up the
fact that he is dying under the weight
of two ply lies he tries to hide inside

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