TWO POEMS

The Bachelor Takes Out the Trash

I toss the ravage remains of my savage
single life into a plastic drawstring bag:
banana peels & pistachio shells, nail clippings,
pubic hair trimmings, chewed chicken bones,
the shards of a Wake the Fuck Up! coffee mug
& empty bottle upon empty bottle of bitter
dark elixirs piled together like the discards
of a failed alchemist. Potion of Revelry.
Potion of Longing. Potion of Flatulence.
Potion of Impotence. Potion of Forgetting.
I only have so much space for all this waste.
The bag begins to tear at the edges & leaks a dark
fluid like a busted condom, which is also inside
the sack leaking life. I hurry the down the stairs
into the backyard where a garden grows vegetables
for the upstairs neighbor’s mouth. Meanwhile,
I eat my genetically-engineered veggies straight
from the can, thanks given to ConAgra Foods
& their investors! At the dumpster, I open the lid
& throw in the bag like a body, the corpse of
the person I was. I look towards the garbage bin
next door, the one belonging to a young married couple
& I see the rump of fat raccoon climbing in.
It’ll find the diapers of their bratty kids, the small
bags of shit from their dog who never shuts up
but also the tossed out leftovers of a home-
cooked meal—roasted lemongrass free-range
chicken & organic asparagus served over brown
rice w/a side of sea-salted kale chips baked
in olive oil. I think on my dinner of peanut butter
& Funyuns & am glad it’s gluten-free.
The raccoon emerges w/a half-eaten apple
in its thieving little hands & looks my way.
I return its gaze & say, You’ll find nothing worth
scavenging here. Better stick to the garbage of marriage.

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Jacob Saenz is a Chicago poet whose work has been published in Poetry, Spoon River Poetry River, Tammy and other journals. A CantoMundo fellow, he’s also been recipient of a Letras Latinas Residency and Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship. He currently serves as an associate editor for RHINO.