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ID, NON EST
What is surprising is its fragility,the cold hard but oh so thin veneerthat is willingly exposed, but alwaysat a nominal distance so that itsshallowness can hide behind the illusion.Even when among its peers, it wantsto inflate for the bigger it appearsthe less frail it seems to thosecasting the passing glance at it.You would not imagine…
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NOTHINGMAN
So when you asked me whichsuperhero I would like to beI would’ve thought you mighthave narrowed it downto the Marvel or DC universes,or did you mean that I couldcreate my own superpower and persona?All of this matters, of course, for anyperson under 75 and male and manyfemales in that cohort as wellknow the vast gulf…
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ON THE WING
From watching them in flightI know that great egrets flywith their hinge neck folded inwhile Sandhill cranes extend theirs. By listening carefully, I knowthe cry of the male limpkin, his lowerthan his female partner, whilethe cry of the hawk only creates fearin those who might be its prey, andthe male Cardinal showsinfinite patience calling outfor…
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MACHISMO
He was fond of sayingthat men need to toughen up,show more fortitude, taketime for serious male bonding. He would prattle on abouthow so many men werenot true men anymore,warped by modern society. I tried my best to avoid him,to quickly end our encounters andwhen I could not, for he wouldinevitably complain of loneliness. Still, I…
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AVERAGE
I am indistinct, maleof reasonable heightand weight, a bit muchmore than I care,but hardly distinct. I have not sufferedmysogeny, beenoverlooked forbeing the wronggender, as ifthere is rightand wrong. I have not feltthe stingof racism, I ammerely oneof the lemmingsmarching alongto the abysscertain of myprivilege, ableto cede myhumanity.
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BEARDED
It is growing more common for menof a certain age, one I have attained,to grow beards, and that was beforethe pandemic made them ubiquitousamong those of the male gender. I noted this aloud and a young childsmiled at me and said, “of course,you have to have a beard becausethe hair inside your head has to…
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VICTIM OF TECHNOSTANCE
He says, “it’s like learning to walk again after you’ve had a stroke, you know you can but nothing seems to work quite right when you try.” She says, “you just upgrading from one model iPhone to the newer model, so don’t overplay it, it isn’t a matter of life itself you know. And if…
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ASTROGEN
I could never understand as a child why the moon was female, the sun always male, and most stars but ours had Arabic names. Now makes much more sense to me, the moon is never one to hog the sky and even when she commands more than her usual space, you only want to stare…
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JUMPING OFF POINT
She says the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her That on a cosmic scale space is curved and no one wants the short straw anyway. She can, of course, read him, a skill she knows is reserved for women and is one of frustration…
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GET A ROOM
In the park the ginkgoes, male and female, separated by the path, are putting on their leaves. Soon the squirrels, eternal voyeurs, will gather on their branches to watch them mating.
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an old writer and his words 