Matty Layne Glasgow
All Afternoon
Yesterday, I built a glory hole, but no one came,
so I knelt alone—without acclaim—
my eyes on the clean tile floor, the wall un-
stained. What’s a boy to do with such shame,
kneeling hollow-jawed in a duct-taped-frame?
I crooned, “A hole is a hole” all afternoon—
a sinful hymn to fan some flamer’s flame.
There was no pilgrimage, no semen monsoon
strewn hard-pressed against that holy wall.
Just an empty arc, an unanswered call. Blame
anonymity. But we’ll make this stall
a relic today; I’ve got to un-tame
your body. So come on, lean in, lay claim.
When you can’t see the face, it’s all the same.
Matty Layne Glasgow is a poet & MFA candidate at Iowa State University where he served as the Poetry Editor for Flyway. Matty’s queer ‘lil ditties have appeared in or are forthcoming from The Missouri Review, BOAAT, Muzzle, The Collagist, Rattle, & elsewhere. He was a runner-up for The Missouri Review’s 2017 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize & was awarded 3rd Place in Frontier Poetry’s Award for New Poet’s by Tyehimba Jess. He currently reads poetry for The Adroit Journal.