this diminutive pre-pubescent lad

(one-of-a-kind and everyboy too)

possessed already of that sense of humor that

pops out unexpectedly here and there

midstream when you won’t expect it

makes us laugh every time

singular short pre-man with long stringy hair

terminating in dips of experimental purple

as random-seeming as the words

that pop out of his brain

look close and you’ll make out

the troubled itches of his mind

furtive insecurities scanning his environment

evaluating, secretly navigating

and so when we sit beside him for a second

to see how he’s getting on in his project

(his project is his life)

the unmistakable stench rising up from his seat

makes us want to back the fuck up

but we can’t out him

and we won’t let on

because he knows

and he wonders if we know

and he probably knows that we do

and we wouldn’t for the world

so we mouth-breathe

(management skill in acute care settings)

and hang as long as necessary because

we’d rather give him something we didn’t get

than take the focus off

the man he’s going to be