United States, (contemporary)
The Second Pig
- I had to build a building.
- I dug stones from the ground
- with my bare hands.
- They didn’t seem big enough.
- They were all I had.
- I didn’t have a ruler.
- Concrete would have helped.
- I spat in the dirt,
- Sealed up the cracks with mud.
- When I ran out of pebbles
- I took sticks. When I ran out
- of sticks I thought why not
- and used leaves. I built
- the building around myself.
- I put some grass on the top
- and stepped back to have a look.
- This was decision time.
- It looked shoddy and poor.
- I looked at the sky.
- Something’s coming, I thought.
- A blue like friendship,
- a wisp of white horizon.
- I wish this was a better
- building, I said into the air.
- I sat down on the dirt floor,
- inside these sad sticks.
- I am just a pig, I said.
- This is the best I can do.
© Chris Haven. Southern Review,. Louisiana State University Press. Volume 54, Number 1, Winter (2018). https://lsupress.org/
About the Poet:
Chris Haven, United States, (contemporary), poet, short story author and educator. He has a Ph.D. In Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Southwest Texas University and a B.A., M.A. In English/Creative Writing from the University of Kansas. Haven currently teaches courses in writing and style at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. [DES-11/21]
Additional information:
- Chris Haven’s web site: https://www.chrishavenwriter.com/
- The Poem The Scond Pig also appears in Chris Haven’s new book of poetry, Bone Seeker, Beacon, NY: NYQ Books (2021)
From the Porkopolis Archive:
- Christopher Walken reads The Three Little Pigs
- Graeme King – THREE LITTLE PIGS
- John Singer Sargent – Three Pigs and a Portrait
- JD Ruse and the Three Little Pigs Band recorded live at the Corner Room performing John Donoghue’s song “Whoopee in the Cushion”.
- Mike Johnson – leaf torn and storm