Brian Foye

Noah's Son Depressed

When it rains for forty days and forty nights
I'll build an ark and take one of everything.
One snowtit, one quetzal, one Indonesian Kingfisher,
A bear, a bobcat, a bontebok, a blue footed booby,
One zebra, one reticulated giraffe, one crane,
A mountain gorilla, an emperor penguin, a duck,
One singular nine-banded armadillo...
You get the picture: one of everything.
Then I'll don my yellow slicker, sit on deck,
Send the mustached monkey down below
For bottle after bottle of the best French wine,
And watch as the animals search in vain.
There is no one to love. Poor animals.
No one to love or be loved by in return.
No one that looks just like me. I'll laugh,
Uncork another bottle, and drink until,
Until the monkey catches the duck's eye,
The hippo glances at the llama, and the bird's
Shrill cries of terror turn to sweet love songs.
Who said love is a ceaseless covenant? Face it:
Life means watching others multiply roughly.
Now the animals are at it again, leaving me
Drunk and alone in the rain with nothing
To do but nickname God's creatures.

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