The new one says
casually
I like you.
I say, I like you, too.
We continue driving
barely touching fingers.
That new one
with his easy smile
that I sense is not so easy.
The new one
who will never win my complete adoration
Typical manspeak he meant it as a compliment
It wasn’t.
He said
I like hanging out with you
and that is the same as saying
fuck you.
Ramblings of a Medicated Lady: Words of Woe by Loria Taylor 
16 comments
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September 25, 2009 at 1:22 pm
poeticgrin
The unexpected bite at the end made it hurt.
September 25, 2009 at 1:29 pm
medicatedlady
I am so honored to have made it hurt! Thank you for that, B!
September 25, 2009 at 1:57 pm
paulandrewrussel
I really like this, medicatedlady.
I like how you illustrated the very perceptive way the words the guy said were translated into something with a completely different meaning.
Simple, short and powerful.
🙂
September 25, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Paul
It’s a great poem. If he meant it as a compliment then it was a compliment regardless of your ability to twist into something painful. “The quality of mercy is not strained,
September 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm
jessiecarty
😦 i feel bad for the guy! 🙂
September 26, 2009 at 3:36 pm
poeticgrin
Jessie – that’s blasphemy around here! 🙂
September 26, 2009 at 5:01 pm
jessiecarty
Bryan – I know I am on risky ground 🙂 haha!
September 27, 2009 at 10:01 am
Val
C’est la vie medicatedlady. Next time when a guy tells you he likes hanging out with you, tell him he will be wonderful material for a story about the dating lapses of certain types of men. 😉
September 28, 2009 at 10:50 am
poeticgrin
You know, she’s given this website address to former gentlemen callers. They’re probably reading these comments. Shout out to ya, boys!
September 28, 2009 at 11:16 am
bindo
Hey whats wrong with hanging out? There’s no winning, no wonder I hang out alone, wishing I had luminous hair.
September 28, 2009 at 11:29 am
medicatedlady
I am fearless and after it’s done, the menz can read at will. Could be about one gentleman or the other or a composite or fiction.
Oh, “hanging out.” Bindo, in my experience, that phrase means the guy cannot even bear to say he’s dating someone, much less able to contemplate a real relationship. The Asshole that Was, said we were “hanging out” for six months. Fuck that shit. Admittedly, I force the fork in the road very early on: we “hang out” or we date. If you “hang out” on the front end, it does not seem to ever go anywhere. I need a man willing to take the jump. I do this out of neediness and wishful thinking. I also do this because I’m tired of dicking around. I’ve been there, done that.
September 28, 2009 at 11:41 am
medicatedlady
Paul Andrew, thank you! I *try* to go for concise as much as possible. My experience with men on the whole colors my relationships now so that when one thing is said, something else entirely is heard.
Paul, “the road to hell was paved with good intentions.” The way I see it, my ability to see meaning has its good and bad sides. So some of my tranlations are harsh or even completely wrong…everyone’s translating words and experiences into different words and experiences.
Jessie, you are hearby banished from the island. Pack your things and go.
Val, no joke. As a parting gesture the ones are mean characters, I should make business cards and say, “Happy trails, asshole. I will fucking annihilate you on my blog at Medicatedlady.” If they are perfectly good people, and I have dated some (but I don’t really do happy poems often), then I will say, “Good luck to you. Do not go to the following website.”
September 28, 2009 at 11:47 am
Jessie Carty
No! What must I do to be unbanished 😦 *hangs head in shame*
September 28, 2009 at 12:36 pm
poeticgrin
Motherhood has softened you, ML.
September 29, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Patrice
I once read a line in a novel that said:
“I could never love a man who said Oh ho! and then laughed ha HA!.”
I know just what both of you mean.
September 30, 2009 at 8:41 pm
mariana
At leaswt you can not complain dear lady, you get to pick up as many guys as you want, that gives you plenty of chances of having eventually the right one.