Katie Manning
When My Spouse Was Hot
When my spouse lost all of his hair
due to chemo, my friends whispered
to me: bald men are hot, or more boldly,
he looks hot bald. Was it the mutation
of cells that made him hot? The cancer
serving as X-gene, the superpower:
hotness? Does proximity to death lend
some heat? My friends were not wrong
though. In the photos I took after his scalp
went smooth, he stares at me, bare head
in his hand, smoldering, the very picture
of hotness. But I felt him shiver under
the covers, heard him chatter in summer
heat. I covered his head with beanies
and found warm blankets to spread
over his body during long treatments.
When the cancer was gone and most
of his hair grew back, friends stopped
saying my spouse is hot, his superpower
once again disguised and unspeakable.
Katie Manning is a poet, professor, and parent, but not necessarily in that order. She's the author of eight poetry collections, including Tasty Other, which won the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award and was featured on Poetry Unbound. She enjoys beaches, books, board games, brownies, and alliteration. Visit katiemanningpoet.com.