Friday, December 3, 2010

The Bulls

The Bulls

He’s got this life that’s real exciting,
always on a bike outside. Mountain biking,
dirt biking, two wheels and he’s on it.
Four wheels, even, over the dirt,
dogs all running around his feet,
going in the woods.

One time he calls me, asks what I’m doing.
Watching the Bulls, the Bulls verse somebody, I say.
He says Come over tomorrow.
Next day I go over to his place and we go in the living room.
There’s six little dogs all crawling on each other,
falling on their faces which are beautiful,
eyes pushed wide apart.
Pit bulls’ eyes look like humans, you ever seen them.
Living alone, him and these pit bulls,
pit bulls are what he raises.
He goes, Which one do you want?

Not often you meet someone like that, knowing the land
is large enough and large enough,
giving you your own dog to take home.

8 comments

  1. Stick around long enough and he'll give you a water bottle and your own set of those grip-strengthener hand squeezy things, too.

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  2. This...reminds me of people I know and know of and wonder what it's like to live in their minds. People who own pit bulls and tinker with cars. You've put these souls into poetry. You amaze the you know what out of me every.single.day. Yay!

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  3. Aawwww! So cute! Pitbulls are the gentlest dogs...did you get one? xoxo

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  5. This is great Hannah. It reminds me of Stephen King's memoir, the part where he tells about being run over by the guy driving a truck with two Rottweilers, Bullet and Pistol. A character like the one in your poem.

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  6. from Therese L. Broderick -- A brand new voice! I was so surprised by this slice-of-life poem, by its alter persona. Great that you can flex in such a way, be so versatile! I love the dead-pan delivery, the Marlon Brando mixture of macho and mushy, the telling details, and the dry humor of the Bulls basketball team. Can't wait to hear more new characters emerge...

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  7. I LOVE this. LOVE it. I love the surprise of it.

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  8. I'm turning mental flips over this one. Oh, how I dig a good, strong voice in a poem. You nailed it, Hannah! It is an excellent voice and characterization. I can literally picture BOTH of them just by reading the narrator's speech. Beautiful pacing, too.

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