Granddaddy's
Farm
(The Short True Tale of Pig-Boy)
by Howard Camner
The only thing I remember hearing about Granddaddy
is that he spent his remaining years
sitting on the roof of his shack
with a shotgun on his knee
keeping his neighbors away from the hog
Many years ago there was a child
from one of those unholy unions
(between the neighbor and the hog)
ugliest damned kid you ever saw
Granddaddy sold him to a carnival freak show
for fifty bucks cash
and bought himself a huge tractor
that he never used
Word had it "Pig-Boy" was a big deal star attraction
for a while
People would pay their hard earned cash to see Pig-Boy
roll around in crap and eat garbage and squeal and snort
and do pig-like stuff
Well, the story goes that one night Pig-Boy lost his mind
and threw himself on the grill at a Masonic barbeque
(which he crashed, uninvited. He was immediately consumed by hungry shriners)
When Granddaddy heard about the tragedy, he took it hard
He blamed himself because it was he who had sold Pig-Boy to the freak show
so he was indirectly responsible for Pig-Boy's demise
Granddaddy didn't do much of anything after that
He didn't do much before, but now he was serious about
not doing much
He just didn't want to go on
I met Granddaddy one time, just before he died
He asked me if I like to eat garbage and roll around in crap
I didn't say anything and we just stared at each other
for a long long time
wishing we weren't related
but it was too lateIt was too damned late
© 2005 Howard Camner
Howard Camner (The Hideous Existence of Barnaby Drudge, Granddaddy's Farm, The Risen) is the author of fifteen books of poetry. He represents the United States in the Poet 2000 Sculpted Library, an international exhibition of the works of contemporary poets. He received the first annual Mi-Po Literary Award in 2004.
