A Poem by Becca Klaver

The Allies Prepare Politely

All the men go a day without women
All the men pick up a Chore Boy® and scrub the pans
All the men wash and rinse and dry and know cycles
All the men notice subtle cues
All the men ask follow-up questions with curiosity
All the men smize while handing us a glass
All the men knew to buy a peachy rosé
All the men apologize when they walk in our paths
All the men keep their knees togetherish on the train
All the men admit their salaries
All the men sit with their softness
All the men nod their heads knowingly
All the men feel u
All the men take back what was taken from them
All the men breathe before cursing
All the men walk away before throwing something
All the men point to faces with feelings on laminated sheets
All the men open up to all the other men
All the men stop and wonder about privilege
All the men do all these things without ever mentioning them at all
All the men head to bed with the humble glow of care

Becca Klaver is the author of the poetry collections Empire Wasted (Bloof Books, 2016) and LA Liminal (Kore Press, 2010). She was the 2017 Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bowling Green State University and is currently coediting, with Arielle Greenberg, the multimedia anthology Electric Gurlesque. 

The Poetry Section is edited by Mark Bibbins.