men’s masculinity is an ornament
i’ll paint a picture for you
it’s december first
and coincidentally
your first time decorating the tree
it smells of sweet pine
you smile
j’aime cette odeur
you think
you pick up a fairy ornament
it’s cute
you exclaim
your brother tells you
boys don’t say cute
that’s for girls
how does an adjective have a gender
you think
growing up with him
you knew he was fragile
he was the ornament
dangling atop the tip of the tree
if he felt his masculinity threatened
the glass ball caressed the garland
but one of these days
you knew
that ornament would smack the ground
and shatter into pieces