Braggadocio
prior physical prowess
spendable currency
boyish man
posturing, preening
standing up,
stand out, back it up

chest bumps fist pumps
in-your-face
yeah, baby! machismo
odes to, by, about a self-
almost-wannabe

couldda, shouldda
been a pretender, you;
Brando’s Malloy
sans street cred, intensity

reflecting on easy ego-jacks
then, now?
adrenaline rush requires
no cut man or handy styptic
pencil in another win

misshapen, badge-of-honor
knuckles swapped out;
manicured cleanliness, play
rock, paper, scissors
while pen obliterates sword
words, ideas are hammer-drops

haughty satisfaction
comes only in the learned
subtlety, brutal effectiveness of
bludgeoning foes
with finely hewn guile

– Mark L. Lucker
© 2016
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd