Cornada Cases

1. On a Minor Case of Persistent Pubertal Gynecomastia

I clipped this picture of some youthful matador
– Head cropped off at the lips –
Getting dressed in a hotel room. Trousers
Are on, not so the rest of the traje de luces.

He bends his bare and hairless chest with
Broad, a teeny tad bit tumid nipples
A large medallion hanging from the neck. Left
Upper arm tattooed, the wrist wearing a bunch of bracelets:
Wish ribbon, silicone band, strands and bangles
To showcase the juvenile hand
While, unadorned, the right one, trained enough to deal death
____________________________________________blows
For the time being seems to hold a needle.
On the bed in the background, recognizably
A smartphone.

I confess without blushing that
Mainly the transient flaw of puffy nips
Has made me tack this on my wall.

Boy doesn’t need his art to tease the beast, white flags
Will wave to grant two ears, the tail, plus someone’s balls – for he’s
Himself the bicho and has gored
A suitor with the mellowest of all protrusions
Pardoned, then exited on mildly aging shoulders that
Must bear a load for sure no heavier
Than what a photo weighs.


2. A Case of Imperforate Anus

The first torero, proud boy, found
His bunghole stuck somehow
And tried to cure this running ’round
The mad calf of a cow.

He called his dance a cattle fight
Convinced there was a mission.
A horn injury fixed that quite
Deplorable condition.

Some prophet came, horns on his nob
With a new code and ban:
“An intact anus needs no job
If Man stops bullying Man.

If y’all have some spunk left, dispose
Of guy-’gainst-livestock lore;
The ballerino’s pricky rose
Should know more ways to gore…”

Bawled he.-  I still clap when one digs
Carne de lidia, see –
It’s part of Nature’s ageless tricks
To dump virility.


August 10, 2017