Rick Christiansen
Rick Christiansen is a former corporate executive, stand-up comedian, actor and director. His work can be found in MacQueen’s Quinterly, Oddball Magazine, Stone Poetry Journal, The Rye Whiskey Review, As It Ought to Be Magazine and other publications. His first full length poetry volume, “BONE FRAGMENTS”, was published this year by Spartan Press. He has recently been nominated for a Touchstone Award. He is the co-host of SpoFest, a member of The Writer’s Place and a member of The St. Louis Writers Guild. He lives in Missouri near his fiancé Kim and his eight grandchildren.
The Honesty of Women
I like the honesty of women.
I have discovered that. . . as my male friends slowly die off.
I find myself with empty slots in my batting line up.
Nobody is left to play third base.
I need the play of conversation.
I need to defend my opinions.
I find my own boundaries by bumping into those of others.
Older men can shrink from intimacy.
Unless it has grown unheeded, like a weed
in the backyard of a long term acquaintance.
We surprise even ourselves with the disclosure of our secrets.
Blurted during the third beer and only after the new sports season
has been argued and put to bed.
The contents of our souls are guarded, locked away until years
of friendship have eroded the tumblers of the mechanism and a key fits in.
And these old dogs are dying.
And I am still here.
And I still crave that connection.
And I cannot wait years to build that shed of trust with other men.
So. . . I like the honesty of women.
