Those Boys I Loved

Those boys with long legs and ready smiles and new beards

Those boys on the cusp of manhood, already there but too busy

Fighting wars or dissenting in the streets to notice.

Those boys who made it easy to spend an afternoon

With our bodies wrapped in sheets and music,

the taste of wine in our mouths and herbs on our breath.

I wouldn’t trade those boys for another past.

Those boys turned out well.

Those other boys, the ones who followed money

Dull boys, a chore to entertain,

Entitled, sometimes arrogant, always distracted by the world.

Those other boys weren’t interesting or fun.

They buy their wives diamond tennis bracelets

And give their mistresses credit cards.

I'm glad I spent my youth with those boys

The artists and eccentrics

And not with those other boys.