Gorilla At Dallas Zoo Raids Kitchen
(Original Version)
My love could be like this—
simian desire expressed in cheap beer
and expensive cigarettes, the need to mark
territory, the wretched hangover.
I drag my knuckles along the kitchen floor.
Small hands grasp, tug
at mine—two daughters
hanging on for a ride. Their weight
curls around sluggish arms.
Daddy’s a gorilla. My belly
a great slope, beard soft, ashy.
I’m no dominant male, but more
the old silverback, massive,
slow. Rages provoked
by dirty dishes, the grocery list.
Sure, there are worse animals.
Gorilla At Dallas Zoo Raids Kitchen
(Re(En)Visioned)
My love could be this—
simian desire expressed cheap beer
and expensive, the need to mark,
the wretched hangover, I.
My knuckles along the floor.
Small hands grasp at mine—two
daughters on for a ride. Weight
curls around, sluggish. Daddy’s
a gorilla. My, a great slope,
beard ashy. I’m no dominant,
but more the old, massive,
slow. Rages provoked:
dirty dishes, the grocery.
Sure, there are worse.
© 2020 JT Williams
JT Williams writes and teaches in Norfolk, VA. He has published several chapbooks including Decked, Response Able, and Candy & Rigor Mortis (with Jorge Mendez).
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