a.    She’s sweet about the way she says it. “Oh,
sweetie, come to church with me. If Jesus
loves an unwed mother, he can love the homo-
sexuals, too.” This time, more than before you hear
how a singular unwed mom, an individual agent,
is juxtaposed against a faceless mass of homo-
sexuals. You think about the countless times
she’s tried to seduce you into Sunday services, &
each began with the fact that Christ dearly loves
some sinner X, so Christ can clearly love you, too.
You want to point this out, but that means
dressing down  her  sweet  open-mindedness.

b.    It’s been an hour’s wait at least & at the bar
your friend downed two brands of Irish whiskey
flights. On the way to the long-awaited table,
your friend wisecracks about how the waiter fills
those skinny jeans a bit too fully. “Dude, they’d
look way better on you…no homo.” You know
it’s something he would normally not say
to you. Are here & now the time & place to
caterwaul those  two  teeny  words?

c.     …