Tonight's Poet Corner: The Eyecatcher

The Eyecatcher
by Belinda Roddie

You're pretty and you're wearing
your brother's suit
from when he was fourteen
because he got too tall for it
because he got too broad for it
but your shoulders settle nicely beneath
the jacket which still smells like Doritos
and cheap body spray.

You're pretty and you've tied
your hair back into a French braid
where all the birds can come to roost
if they can't find their way back home
in this big, scary metropolis where
you had your first real kiss at a bus stop
at noon, far away from school.

You're pretty and you're gay
and you're sure you've seen me before
seen me walking these streets before
seen me see you bobbing
on the heels of your loafers dressed
in your brother's suit with the red tie
and the red pocket square and the French
braid and the smell I want to bury my face
into, breathing in and out, pulling
the sadness from your pores.