Geppetto’s Burden
I’ve seen all too many older drunks
with noses that look like a
Proboscis Monkey on steroids.
Now every time I take a drink,
I run fingers along my snout,
hesitantly,
feeling for new growth,
dreading what I might find, and
I remember Pinocchio,
the innocence of my childhood under siege,
thinking, my god,
could it be?
A Poem for a Cow
Driving down Interstate 5
snacking on turkey jerky,
I pass a cattle truck.
All the cows stared at me
as I stuffed another piece in my mouth.
I tried to explain
it wasn’t beef, but
I don’t think they understood.
I also don’t think they know
where they’re going,
but then,
neither do I.
A Snake in My Bathroom
Opened the door
intent on taking a leak,
saw a gopher snake curled up,
imitating one that rattles.
Startled the snake,
but not as much
as it scared the shit out of me.
I scooped it up
with broom and bucket,
walked it out
a couple hundred yards
into the forest,
turned it loose,
thinking,
I wish all my fears
could be so easily
and conveniently
emancipated.
Ants
Camped at Movie Stringer,
drinking Scotch and water,
sitting on a rock,
ants all over the fuckin’ place.
I was afraid they’d get into the Scotch,
but it doesn’t seem to interest them.
I guess the ants of this world
don’t like to drink,
one more reason I do.
Bio: Paul Hellweg has had over 50 poems published since his debut in 2009. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and he won the 2009 Famas Poetry Prize (sponsored by Literary Chaos, an online magazine). He thinks all this is pretty cool.
