My newer-cheaply-made-in-China underwear is holy.
Jockey’s my go-to brand for 40 years
now, spring holes that cannot be repaired.
Made of cotton with bands that used to withstand
old washing machines, hot water and toxic detergents,
disintegrate into over-stretched, ill-fitting,
falling down or twisting around garments
after just a few washings. I tried other names,
the results same or worse, all because greed
says make shit shitty cause shitty shit can’t be fixed
and because men don’t seem to care any more
about the quality of my underwear.  

Even though I try not to hoard
I put away things I may be able to use again.
I have five or six pairs, leftover from 15 years ago,
I brought out of storage, because I’m not as fat
today as I was last year. These stored bikini’s
barely fit, but at least they don’t put me in a snit.
Even the elastic still has binding powers to it.
You know, not dry-rotted, like the ones I saved
from when I was young, dumb, still having the flow.
Those were crackling and had to go,
but FYI they had no holes.  

Anyone out there make custom cotton briefs
that’ll last, at the least, til the day I die
because I don’t want to ever have to buy
another pair of shitty underwear?