There's an alligator
under Billy Balinski's bed,
its idiot-grinning teeth waiting
for that very instant
Billy's foot hits the floor
to suck him in,
like his mother's Hoover
had done to his sister's doll,
only his sister's doll
hadn't gone all the way down;
its feet were left sticking
out between the rollers.
Billy imagined that's how he'd look,
only his feet would be kicking
and he'd be yelling like crazy
with his head deep down inside
the alligator's belly.
But no one would hear him,
because no noise can penetrate an alligator.
But Billy Balinski
wasn't going
to give that alligator a chance,
even though Billy
had to pee so bad it hurt.