Lonely Elephant Part 3 by: Hillarree Hamblin, Acrylic on canvas, 2010.
Cheesy
by: Bax
Sonny holds the shoe at the top;
one flip and it slides in for a ringer.
Leroy grabs his at a point;
a flying saucer raises dust.
Ernie grips it on the side;
a flip and a spin and it opens.
Joe puts his large hand under the shoe;
his high toss plops with a thud.
Last round’s losers buy the beers
and suffer through the winners’ jeers.
Alfred hides behind a counter
in Mattingly’s little grocery store.
Ida shows her nice tomatoes to a customer.
Alfred grabs a box of Velveeta,
slides it behind his back to his other hand,
and sneaks toward the front door.
Ida yells, “Alfred, you get back here!”
Halfway out the door, Alfred sneers,
“You can’t catch me. You’re too old!”
He trots two blocks down Main Street,
into the alley and behind Fleig’s tavern,
where he runs into the horseshoe game.
It has nothing to do with his theft,
but, holding high the Velveeta, he squeals,
“I’ve got the cheese! I’ve got the cheese!”
Since then we call him Cheesy
So now we call him Cheesy.