999 Z18

there’s a giant outside
Tricia’s aunt’s house
ten feet fall
with a mouth that can catch
the rain
and hands broad enough
to scoop up the children in one
swift motion

I don’t mind him

Tricia says he needs to be brought
down
or else
the community will take it down
themselves

what about your aunt
I ask

she says
my aunt hasn’t been right
in ages and this monster
it doesn’t help

I watch the giant dig ditches
fence in dogs
aid in the birth of animals
around the farm

I watch him sleep
his chest a great mound
heaving and lowering

I watch Tricia load
her father’s revolver
bright and dull
under the kitchen light

I wonder how much of my life
I’ve spent watching