When I was thirteen, I would sit on our back patio in the rain
Everyone would run indoors and I would stay
And tilt my head back and look at the stormy sky.
Relaxing into what we instinctually run from
The rain washed over me — the man of the house.
One time, years before, we got caught in a downpour.
My little sister screamed bloody murder.
My mother said, “You won’t melt! You’re not made of sugar.”
Now my sister is in the house, yelling, “Ma! He’s out in the rain again!”
I close my eyes as the water runs down my face and I tell myself:
I
Am
Not
Made
Of
Sugar.
Brian is a blogger (brianferrarinyc.com) and DJ at EastVillageRadio.com, where he hosts the weekly show 60 Degrees with Brian Ferrari. He has written for Queerclick, The Good Men Project and the Fire Island Pines Historical Preservation Society. A 4th generation Long Islander, Brian grew up in Westbury/East Meadow and currently lives in Forest Hills with husband Toby Fox Ferrari.