anaphora penises by Andrew McMillan

anaphora       penises

I disagree with you on this

one small point      the time you said   of penises

when you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all I think 

you’re wrong      each one is fingerprint unique

each with its own way of being in the world

shy or all bravado or statesmanlike

it’s not size   though you can feel each one trying

to push itself upright   like a schoolboy

hoping to be called on to give an answer

it’s smaller things   the smell of each one   the way

the day can linger there   beneath the slim lips

of the foreskin   each with its own direction

each with its own personality   its own

way of introducing itself   each of them

a personal totem for the bearer

each its own low pendulum marking the passing

of each year with its own minutiae

of successes/changes/health scares      each one

of singular importance to each singular

man   each treasured and wept for and prone

to misjudgment   and not to be trusted