COPEI

somewhere in the world

at a cafe,

or a park bench,

or maybe even next to you if you’re his unlucky target,

sits a man—oh no, a boy—with a newly purchased tote bag,

flipping through a bell hooks book, oh, doesn’t he look so sad?

he’s sipping on his matcha

and listening to his clairo

pull out your phone, now, if you please

be careful not to stare, though

for if you do, he might remove his stupid wired earbuds

and ruin the performance we’re so careful to beware of

oh no! he’s caught us filming him! what horror! oh mon dieu!

hold on a minute…did he say he’s also filming you?

this creature feature was a farce, he’s simply doing a bit

with our revulsion caught on camera, he’ll surely be a hit

we practice symbiosis well, if we’re being honest

we get our perfect dose of laughter and the bad guy we were promised

we even let the men take part: we let them have a contest!

if we all mock performances we get rid of the real pests

no man could ever like a matcha, it tastes like grass to them

I know it cause I told me so, it’s as fact as fact has been

but all good things must fall out of trend

men quit being that way, it was hard to pretend

that feminine things could ever be

even performatively interesting

somewhere in the world

in a restaurant,

or a subway,

sits a boy who can’t possibly enjoy reading for his own gain

doesn’t he know he can drop this bad act?

we fought the good fight so now he can relax

there's no burden to listen to laufey or webster

he’s free to be a real man without pressure

Performative Female

Photograph by Greta Buysse

Not so Regular Show

To the Tune of "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles

Mordecai Rigby,

Procrastinate in the park

to boss Benson’s fury