Chewing Gum
Max Gillette
Everyone claims to be a people pleaser
but I spend so much time displeased.
Displeased with most of my life
I turn back to the faith of my father.
One Sunday, my father turned to me
and said, “God is not a gumball machine,
God does not spit out sweetness
when you believe you’ve earned it.”
I don’t know if I believe in “earning”
I like to believe I have some choice.
My father believed in consequences.
His belt left ugly marks on skin.
His belt left ugly marks on my skin.
There is no pleasing an angry man.
Max Gillette is a queercrip poet from Detroit, MI. Their work has been published in Arkana Magazine, Thimble Literary Magazine, Winnow Magazine, Sage Cigarettes, and elsewhere. Max’s poetry has appeared in digital prosody guides and has been nominated for Best of the Net. Max is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing at Ohio State University, where they teach poetry and edit for The Journal.
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