BIG TIME
by Dave Nielsen
Time’s Up
To see how beautiful a single rock is,
to put one in one’s yard
by crane, by a team
of workers.
The beginning of time—
set off by a flowerbed!
Look at the children next to it,
little flashes of light.
And the sun and the moon,
the rock’s brothers.
How wonderful!
To see how magnificent a pebble is,
a little fleck of gravel.
To hold it on your tongue,
to swallow it—
the beginning of time
deep inside you now,
like a giant stomach ache.
Experiment
I heard a coyote’s puppy
whimpering in the snow.
I heard a woman sobbing in the kitchen.
I heard the snow melt in June.
I heard the door close behind me.
At night, I heard a rat perched on the window sill
nibbling on a plastic cup.
I heard its teeth click against each other.
I heard dry leaves blowing.
I stuck my head out the door
and heard the wind over bare
treeless
nothing.
Lines on a Very Painful Subject
It isn’t fair,
my life is so boring.
When I was ready to write about anything—
I was ready to write
about anything.
A little plastic cup at my desk
stuffed with pens.
My penmanship superb, excellent, superior.
Notebook ready.
My parents loved me—
loved me too hard, really.
The sound of a vent blowing air
over my head. In ten minutes
I shall leave all—
for lunch, I shall leave it all for lunch:
a tomato sandwich,
some grapes—
It’s not fair,
my life
is so boring.
Hero
Sometimes there is nothing a man can do
in the face of mortgages
and rising interest rates
in the face of the sexual impulse
the national debt
children
Sometimes a man is overcome
by spelling errors
and he has to make choices
based on instinct
and limited information
and a sentimental longing
for celebrities of his youth
Sometimes there is nothing
If there were you wouldn’t be reading this
Nor would I have ever written it
Big Time
Towards the end they stand and cheer
They clap their hands
They throw their hats in the air
They sit down
Now they are calling for hotdogs
They call and call
They begin screaming at the referee
Pointing and screaming
At the field empty as the sea
Someone bring them
A damn hot dog please!
About the Author:
Dave Nielsen is the author of Unfinished Figures, a collection of poems. His writing has recently appeared in Crab Creek Review, Folio, Forge, and other venues. He is the brother of the famed-poet Shannon Castleton, and the son of the highly esteemed Craig and Jerrie Nielsen. He is married to track star Susan Lee Taylor. The couple currently resides in Salt Lake City, on the East Bench.