The Feminine Side (poetry)

The man on the outside never listens
to the woman on the inside —
the woman on the inside
imagines she’s forever dumb —
and for a while stores her words — files
away every thought until
she has an entire philosophy
unexpounded and aching to be heard.

The woman on the inside
learns an intense sigh language
but the man on the outside
won’t let himself tremble
and dismisses her sensitivity —
pretends he doesn’t know she’s always there —
denies the way she makes him feel —
the he/she dichotomy unnerves him.

The man on the outside avoids pink —
won’t coo over kittens — resists
any tenderness that creeps over him
and threatens to undo
his macho insouciance
while the woman on the inside
painstakingly breaks the code
one dream at a time.