Nhat Huy Nguyen
“Ditchin' Prom (These Boys Are) // Thiasus (Not You)”
These boys are ditchin' prom, leavin' their girls behind.
These boys got a plan, they're ditchin' that plan too.
Slushies in hand, all these boys are back in the backyard.
Beloved quarterback, theatre geek, the new kid, etc, and you.
Boys gathered around the campfire and they're all touching
each other. It's not sex, it's just typical teenage ruckus.
Satyrs in some modern form. These boys aren't not making love,
It's just extreme violence, and none of it matters anyway.
There's light, they're all pretending not to see each other.
Each is getting closer to the one they want without saying it.
They’re in it for more than blood, aren’t they?
All these boys, sober. Not me.
I touched a boy once. Yes, you.
I’d say you reached out to me first
But that’s not true. I placed two fingers
In your mouth and formed a gun.
Watched your tongue corrupt my youth.
I’d say it hurt like hell but that’s not true.
Eyes unshuttered. Quiet flesh. Was this
Supposed to mean something? Well I’m
Not quite a boy and you’re
Not quite a girl so what are we doing
Here? You’ll bite with your bite and I’ll
Moan with mine—This is where I mess up.
I broke the rules. Everyone knows the rules. Boys are
Allowed to touch but they're not allowed to make noise.
I'm kicked out so you're all alone. You're never really alone,
Even when you want to be. There's always another boy.
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Nhat Huy Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Canadian university dropout & writer. They used to work with your father, they're a big fan of dog motifs, they used to have a crush on you but you moved away the last summer of middle school & they haven't forgotten about you since. Published in La Piccioletta Barca, great weather for MEDIA. Find them on Instagram @soup.eschatology.
