THE KICK

Why do you walk, Troll asks.
Why can’t you live under a bridge.
Goat gets up, straw mouth, blocks
thin path. His hooves strike
dry dirt, buck tooth bite, moot
argument. Troll climbs

under a bush. God picks Goat
up by his scruff. You should
hear yourself speak, He says,
boots him, perfectly, Goat lands
like bread.