Revenge

Nathaniel Hutner

I am not supposed to be writing poetry,
I am supposed to be turning up my nose
And taking revenge.

But where my nose is going
There is no air,
And revenge is not possible.
There is enough revenge already.

I wish it were spring again,
And even that the rain would come
And clean us up.
I need a wash.
I think a lot, and a wash
Would make me feel better.

I can hear mice
Coming out of the woodwork.
They live there in winter
And come out at night
Looking for food.
The cat eats them.
I suppose it is instinct.
I suppose there is a lot of instinct everywhere,
But that is no excuse.

Nathaniel Hutner is a playwright and poet. His theater debut was Godot Arrives, praised by Mel Gussow in The New York Times as one of the best off-off-Broadway plays of the 1993-94 season. Other plays include Godot Imagine Godot and Godot Alive or Dead. His poems have appeared in many journals. He has been Playwright-in-Residence at the Ensemble Studio Theater, and Script Reader at Circle Rep.