Myers, Jack

United States, (b. 1941)

Mirror for the Barnyard

  1. Nancy, the hogs don’t know us.
  2. We roar up in 100 yards of dust
  3. impressing an old hog that jams
  4. his snout against an ass
  5. which squeals a 300-pound pink noise
  6. and doesn’t realize we mate without a sound.
  7.  
  8. I have a horn and you own a purse.
  9.  
  10. But the chickens don’t understand this.
  11. They’re snotty and uptight about strutting
  12. perfectly over their food
  13. just waiting for the first weird move
  14. to uncover the homosexual in their midst.
  15. Our neighbors sweat over the same things.
  16. But the boredom of the cows
  17. when the land at last opened up
  18. its heart to us enlightened me.
  19. I knew that leisure, loss of the hands
  20. and lack of any definite commitment to serve
  21. or conquer others was the only difference between us.

© Jack Myers. The American Poetry Anthology, edited by Daniel Halpern. New York: Routledge (2019).

About the Poet:

Jack Elliot Myers, United States, (b. 1941) is a poet, educator, reviewer and anthologist. Has taught Creative Writing, English and MFA programs at Southern Methodist University and Vermont College.

Myers has published numerous poetry collections, edited several poetry anthologies and provided numerous reviews as well as his own poetry to a wide range of quarterlies, journals and magazines.

Myers has also been the Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at Wichita State Univ., Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Idaho and Distinguished Writer-in-Residence Northeast Louisiana Univ. [DES-11/19]