"They died with their boots on"
Or the mighty pilot-hero
In his soaring jet
The physicality of gender
Derived from the things
Until the boots themselves
Stand erect
And airplanes cleave the
Skies in masculine ardour
Then came a October
Afghanistan burned
Under a woman's contrail
And tonight a lioness in GI boots
Strides upon Mesopotamian soil
While her little cub opens
Boardgame gifts
Christmas alone at home.

12/31/03

Customer-poet, who later was one of the slam competitors. She asked for "Gender, boots, airplane, boardgame", and I gave her something like this. My original notes weren't much like the finished product, and I'm not sure if I got this version quite like what I delivered into her hands.