The Tunnel

A poem about an old cartoon.

For the first time he sees it in an old cartoon
the Dog paints a fake tunnel with 
the shadows just right and everything
on a brick wall that he builds 
at the end of the road
so it looks like the road 
keeps going
so the Rat will 
come running along
and run headlong into the wall
that looks like a road that keeps going
a tunnel that goes right through
and be killed

but the Rat doesn’t run into the wall
when he comes running along
he's heading straight for it
but then just keeps going 
right through 
into the tunnel 
that the Dog just painted
like it was a real tunnel
and disappears into the darkness
into somewhere else
while the Dog just watches 
from his hiding spot
bewildered and angry

and when the Dog jumps out 
and comes charging after him 
trying to follow the Rat into the tunnel 
that he just painted
into wherever it was the Rat went
it doesn’t work
and he nearly kills 
himself because it’s a trick again
a fake tunnel that’s just
a wall with paint on it
again like it was supposed to be 
and a big lump grows
out of his head


He sees this and he goes down
into his basement where
there’s a brick wall that looks
kind of like the one in the 
cartoon and he paints 
a tunnel onto the wall 
he makes sure 
that the shadows are just right
and everything so it really 
looks like a real tunnel
one that’s dark and 
mysterious and leading to 
who knows where

some where other than this
he thinks at least
eyes closed now 
he tries to convince himself
that he’s just like the Rat
tries to think the same way 
the Rat would think
tries to believe that he really
is the Rat that he’s not a human
being at all and he can run 
and just keep going
into the tunnel 
just like the Rat can

and he breaks his wrist
hitting the wall and
probably gets a concussion too
but he gets back up and runs
at the tunnel on the wall 
again
compounds the fracture
starts to feel real dizzy but
gets up
does it a third time and finally
can’t get up again after
the impact
that time

all he can do is lie on the floor
curled on his side
dazed and angry nauseous feeling
like the Dog must have felt
staring at the tunnel with
the right shadows
and everything 
just like in the cartoon
lying on his side
he stares at the tunnel and
tries to find his mistake
until the blackness 
spreads all the way across his eyes