Sisyphus, by Ben Drevlow
Every morning I let the pitbull out and he sprints the length of the yard, bops his bowling ball head on the door of the shed.
Every morning I let the pitbull out and he sprints the length of the yard, bops his bowling ball head on the door of the shed.
It’s a beautiful thing for like three seconds.
A day at the dog track no bunny, but a rusted old shed.
Until…thunk-crunch.
He doesn’t wince or whine or feel pain.
It’s bark bark bark grow.
It’s Sisyphus with his boulder.
It’s Charlie Brown with the football.
It’s the rat that refuses to take the dopamine and goes right on putting his nose to the shocker.
Every morning I’m waiting for him to win, to get in,
to break down that door and find his chaise lounge,
the throne he’s earned in battle.
The other dogs mock him, watch to see what he’ll do this time.
The other dogs, trash dogs all of them, yip and bark and jump up and down and watch him go…
bang-clunk-chunk!!
Every morning I let the pitbull out and we all watch him go.
Every morning I let the pitbull out and wait for him to learn, hurt himself, grow out of it, but no.
This dog is damn near invincible.
This dog is a wonder to behold.
He’s never even been inside the shed. I’m afraid of what he’d do if he actually did, afraid of the
disappointment, afraid of the victory parade he might throw himself.
There’s nothing but rolls of old garden fence in there, some garden tools my ex-wife used, an ax, a saw,
an old ratty chaise lounge.
Every morning I’m waiting for him to win, to get in, to break down that door and find his chaise lounge,
the throne he’s earned in battle.
Every morning I watch the trail of dirt he’s rutted through the lawn get a little deeper, a little more
ingrained.
Every morning I let the pitbull out and watch him make a dent a little bit deeper, watch him knock himself
a little bit sillier, watch him stun himself a bit more every time with the world’s unwillingness to budge to
his will.
But you should see the prance in his step when he comes trotting back, the way his tongue wags, his head
held high, wide-eyed and chest out.
Behold the Sisyphus, behold the king of blissful ignorance and perpetual optimism.
~~~
Ben Drevlow is the managing editor of BULL, a lit mag about toxic masculinity, and the author of The Book of Rusty (2022), A Good Ram is Hard to Find (2021), Ina-Baby: A Love Story in Reverse (2021), and Bend with the Knees and Other Love Advice from My Father (2008). You can find these and other works linked at thedrevlow-olsonshow.com or on Twitter/X, Insta, Facebook, and Threads @thedrevlow.
the museum of americana: A LITERARY REVIEW 