Come Around Back Now

by Eric Dittmar

How are you ever
Going to get out from under this?
It hunts with its nose
It is brave from lack of sleep

Onions, cantaloupe, red cabbage, moss
Don’t shop hungry
Don’t go to sleep mad

Now strut for the camera
Twitch if you please

Come around back now
Meowing, rambling, blasting a request
For mercy with an air horn
Pointing to an unspecified time and place

A leaflet addresses your problems
Your teeth retract and dissolve
You lose your ability to use language
There is nothing to be afraid of