“Bad Doggy in the Dark,” “King Kong,” and “A Dangerous Man”

Bad Doggy in the Dark

This is a game for when the nights are long
and mom needs a break. You turn out the lights
and roll newspaper into baseball bats.
You close your eyes and scream and flail.
No one can hit anyone with any force this way.
This was my father’s game. Everyone feels like a winner,
like they’ve got something to say about being bad.

King Kong

The game is King Kong. The baby is under my arm
hand wrapped around the barrel of her. No one makes
me feel so animal. More ape. I throw myself into the air.
I climb up to the roof of our house. All the while
I beat my chest. I made the world. The world is safe.
The world is a safe place for you.

A Dangerous Man

Despite the bravado
I am not what you might call
a dangerous man though
I’m handy with a crowbar
I’m not afraid to spend
money to make money
I like watching fights
I don’t understand justice
I’d like to garden all day
maybe raise some fruit
that tastes sweet but also fresh
and think about sugar
and colonization I’d like to sip
tea on the porch and eat
surrounded by loved ones
all of them well fed and happy
and for them I’d do everything
in my considerable power
all the dangerous things
all the quiet violence required.