Punch-Drunk

Abstract

Punch-Drunk, a collection of 43 poems, deals with themes involving masculinity, violence, family, religion, and the apocalypse. As such, the collection shows an array of relationships the speaker has with various men, family members, religious figures, and forces of nature, thereby revealing the ways in which humans navigate loss and come to accept hard truths. Therefore, this collection shows the ways in which humans are not static creatures, but instead beings that are continually changing and achieving some kind of growth. By the end, the speakers have gone on personal journeys in which they learn the fact that love is not always constant, figuring out and coming to terms with your gay identity is a complicated ordeal, familial relationships are not always stable, and the world will sometimes crumble at your feet.