FOXHOLE MAN – Terence Sheehan

May 18, 2026

Foxhole man does what he can
Cuts off his own legs and asks
“Can you stand me now?”
Borrows all the pennies and gives them all back
Discards every garment and lives in a toothbrush forest
They run mad exhaling carbon dioxide
They’re going
Foxhole man stays in one spot
He’d rather stay inside and rot
A throng his mother among them
Cheering at his imminent death
Failing to achieve status his arms fell off
And they picked them up and beat him with them
Failing to cry out they got bored with him and left
They’re going
A mad throng
Inhaling carbon monoxide
And jet engine exhaust
His own mother among them
Jeering and pointing out his mistake
All running to see the strippers as they shake their giant asses
Foxhole man has no friends
You wouldn’t even like him
I don’t know why I even told you about him in the first place…

 
ONLY JUST

The rain was having a day
I got out of bed and sat in the chair by the window
The rain discourages the people as it does the flies
Yet still a passerby every now and again
Maybe jogging maybe walking
Maybe crawling on all fours begging in vain for medical attention
As for me I may or may not be feeling pain
It is immaterial what with all this Novocaine
The dentist had retarded me with a lavish supply
I sit and blow bubbles for the ghosts
It appeases their wrath and gives me respite from their screaming voices
I can focus on a nickel
On a dime
I can see the rust that has formed
The same rust that adorns my edges
I’m a minimalist
I own only a bed a chair and a clock
I cook my own meals
The local grocer leaves his door unlocked for me
I go in there after 2 am and get my things
I offer my payment at the altar of Kroger
I may or may not enjoy the eating
But I do it because I’m supposed to

 
SKINCARE

There is a pain
In finding that the solution of yesterday
Will inevitably degrade into todays useless artifact
Consistency for some can only be found in the grave
But not Goggins
And not Jesus Christ
My inadequacy a stark contrast to their steadfast determination
I am a shadow in this world
Appearing only to consume
To uphold my fleshy frame
That is my consistency
The consistency of a wild animal
But man was meant for more than this
That is a pain

Then there are the others
With their sisters and brothers
Fathers and mothers
And their friends
Each with a small and insular community
Rich and prosperous
Carefree and ruthless
Aspiring not to truth and righteousness
But to the next concert
The next wedding
The next gathering
Truly they have received their reward in full
I have been known to dine in their courts
Not accepted but observed in close quarters
Like the novel beast they begrudgingly allow into the room as a talking piece
I always leave feeling the same way
Like water I return to the same place

Advertisements over loudspeakers
Skincare
Various drugs that we don’t know what they are for
But for giving strokes and heart attacks
I was in the emergency room when someone died once
I heard the doctor say
“He’s dead.”
Something to that effect
I heard the other say something
It all had the casual atmosphere of a Starbucks coffee transaction
Through the curtain I observed
Death is no big thing
It is simply a moment that passes
And the world carries on clamoring
With advertisements blaring over the loudspeaker
Even and up to the moment of death
“Ask your doctor about such and such today… Side effects include…”