Dalton Day

GENTLE MEN

My uncle taught me two things:
how to shoot and
how to cry like a man.

How to shoot: aim the gun
as an extension
of your sex. That is, question
why you are shooting
with every breath.
Hold your breath.
Put your finger on the trigger,
like it’s the tongue of the mouth
that contains the one word
you don’t ever want to hear.
Hold your breath.
You’re just shooting at trees.
You’re just shooting at air.
This is the way we stay alive,
by holding our breath
for as long
as we can.

How to cry like a man: shoot.


Dalton reads "Gentle Men":



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Dalton confesses: "This poem is inspired, of course, by my uncle. He is a hard-hearted man. The way I express my masculinity is very different from the other men in my family, and I just wanted to explore the fluidity of that, especially within my own family dynamics."

DALTON DAY received his B.A in Literature & Language from the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he was awarded the Topp/Grillot Poetry Prize. His work has appeared or will appear in Hypothetical, Rufous City Review, CAP, and Former People, among others. His first chapbook, Supernova Factory, was released by On the Cusp Press in 2013. Currently he is a poetry editor for FreezeRay Poetry and can be found at myshoesuntied.tumblr.com.