brillo pads

by Carl Miller Daniels

the swans floating on the lake are
dirty and gritty, their long necks
muted with grime.
the swans no longer seem to be able
to clean themselves, or each
other. they are not pure
and white anymore, but
grungy, soiled, dingy.
**
the sexy half-naked young man
standing on the banks
of the lake
watches the dirty swans,
and feels a tightness
in his chest.
last night he fucked
his girlfriend
for the very first time.
last night was
the first
time that he fucked
anyone, ever,
and yes, the
loss of his virginity
is a mystical
and oddly icky
presence inside
his tight pink brain.
**
the sexy half-naked young man
rubs his sexy little nipples
with his fingertips,
and watches the
dirty swans adrift
on the lake.
the smell in the
air is fungal,
of things forever
damp, a kind of
mildewy presence
in his flared-out
nostrils.
**
eventually the
sexy half-naked young man
stops staring at the dirty
swans, at their
long soiled necks, at
the oily-looking blotches
on their off-white backs,
and he heads on home,
to eat rice krispies,
and slurp up the
sugary milk.