The Badass
By: Brandon Yu
Threatened to shoot daughter’s boyfriend
Less than five seconds after first encounter.
Had “the talk.” Showed me his arsenal--
AR-15, .44, .38, pot belly, midlife crisis
Who thinks the Steelers can hear him
Screaming at the 44.4" x 27.8" flatscreen
While church wife—the terminal hostage--
Brings homemade dip.
Noxious masculinity. Novels are unproductive,
dancing is gay; Emotional abuse is tough love:
Better his kids be bullies than the ones
Being bullied. “Whatever you do to my
Daughter, I will do to you,” he tells me.
“Then you can buy me dinner,” I say.
“And afterwards, as we stand together
By the front door, you can ask me for a kiss.”
Less than five seconds after first encounter.
Had “the talk.” Showed me his arsenal--
AR-15, .44, .38, pot belly, midlife crisis
Who thinks the Steelers can hear him
Screaming at the 44.4" x 27.8" flatscreen
While church wife—the terminal hostage--
Brings homemade dip.
Noxious masculinity. Novels are unproductive,
dancing is gay; Emotional abuse is tough love:
Better his kids be bullies than the ones
Being bullied. “Whatever you do to my
Daughter, I will do to you,” he tells me.
“Then you can buy me dinner,” I say.
“And afterwards, as we stand together
By the front door, you can ask me for a kiss.”
Writer's Statement: I'm a writer from South Florida with a passion for storytelling. My work has been published in Fabula Argentea, Oyster River Pages, the Washington Square Review, the Gordon Square Review, the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, and elsewhere.