Four Legs

By Mike Coulter

four legs in the hot sun
heat and sweat
ashes and
talk
talking all the time
out of bounds
cold and
rotten
I chased a parasite
out into the steam
made him cry
made him angry and resentful
and at that point
I was a
bad
person
looking to make anyone
unhappy

he spoke
i hit
i’m in the shade
he’s in the sun
if I’m not cruel when I’m asleep
I was then, awake
power and sickness
flooded
filled
and fixed me
and then she talked forever
while he wasted
warm nervous eyes
missing mine
and then we all stood up.

This poem was originally published in Slake No. 4. To read all of the stories from that issue, purchase the issue or subscribe at shop.slake.la.