Tired of tough guys

I’m tired of tough guys
and I’ve had ‘em all
 
loggers, oil-rig workers, construction
workers, bikers, sailors
 
don’t get me wrong
love the way they do me
love the arms
of a working man
the smell of coffee
heavy jackets
and cigarettes
 
and a pair of size 11’s
at the front door
god, I love a pair of workers boots
on the front step
better than a dog
for keeping out
the creeps
 
but they’ve all become
one flavor
 
and change is as good
as a holiday
 
right?
 
so I look around
at the options
and see flab
pin-thin arms
that fall from too-clean t-shirts
with forearms
that don’t remind me
of cock
 
men who don’t use their bodies
to force
to survive
and who come home
clean
 
I wonder how
if they’ve never worked
with their hands
 
they’ll ever work
 
me