Loverpie (poem)

Jared calls me
"Loverpie"
because he is trying out
new nicknames.
Babe, lover, darling --
all the previous dubbings.
He is young and thin
and I hired him once
to clerk my store
during a Christmas holiday.
He tells me
he is only friends
with attractive people
who will photograph
well with him.
Years after the Christmas
holiday, we photograph
well together still.
Long distance now,
he calls me with the latest
gossip, I call him
with mine, an even
exchange of fabulous
for friends worthy
of try-it-on-please nicknames