Crushing on Nerds
This is sad. You love dorks. Geeks that smell like pimple cream and have large glasses that make their eyes bob and bulge like silky Betas. You count the pleats on their tan pants and their tight white briefs consume your nightlife. You think about how they must also be afraid of their own bodies, they’re embarrassing erections, their sweet-smelling body hair. You daydream about reading the dictionary naked with them, about becoming an expert on obscure sex limericks, or the quality of condom brands. Alex Trebek started it. You blame your mother for turning you into a quiz. I’ll take dorks with secretly hard bodies for $500, you think to yourself as Jeremy goes to the board to draw a diagram of a cell in biology. One of his shoes is untied, and he has wax on his braces. His hair is like a sunrise, unburdened and bright. He smells like fabric softener. His mother still keeps him safe, soft and whole. Maybe it is his mother you love.
Amanda Chiado
Amanda Chiado holds degrees from the University of New Mexico, California College of the Arts and Grand Canyon University. Her chapbook Prime Cuts is forthcoming from Bottlecap Press and she is the author of Vitiligod: The Ascension of Michael Jackson (Dancing Girl Press). Her work has most recently appeared in Southeast Review, RHINO, The Pinch Journal, The Offing and many others. She is a Community of Writers alum and Highlights Foundation alum. Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart & Best of the Net. She is the Director of Arts Education at the San Benito County Arts Council, is a California Poet in the Schools, and edits for Jersey Devil Press.