Slowpoke

Maybe

he

shoulda

paid more

attention

to his worn

out

ol’ wife maybe

maybe he

coulda at least

walked the dang

dachshund more

‘en once in awhile

stupid standard mutt

his wet nose

jammed

into ladies’ crotches

LeHew, Slowpoke

stupid dead ol’ dawg

possibly he mighta put

a dish some dishes

in the washer done

a loada laundry maybe

then she wouldn’ta

gone ta all the trouble

to get the cancer maybe then

he’da had a hand to hold

a Louise to his Thelma

his boot

to the pedal

the double-pane

plate-glass

store-front window

his fuckin’

unsuccessful Grand Canyon

plunge—

reckons

now that the money ‘s gone

wife gone, dawg gone

LeHew, Slowpoke

everyone he loves long long gone

reckons ta tell the god damn grandkids

it was all

is all

just some ginormous

gas ‘r brake mistake

g-i-n-o-r-m-o-u-s

and go clean his gun.

Laura LeHew is an award winning poet. Her work appears in a myriad of national and international journals and anthologies. She earned a MFA in writing from CCA, a residency from Soapstone, interned for CALYX, and was nominated for a Pushcart. Her chapbook Beauty was released from, Tiger’s Eye Press.