"The Gym" by José Hernandez Diaz

The Gym

A man went to the gym on his day off from work. He works as a librarian in the city. He was organizing a set of books about exercise when he decided he needed to start going to the gym. First, he ran on the treadmill for forty-five minutes. He felt alive. Then, he worked out on the bench-press. He felt good. Finally, the man swam in the pool and then relaxed in the jacuzzi. When he got home, he read a book about Salvador Dali’s paintings of giraffes, elephants, and dreams. He fell asleep like a sloth in a tree.

José Hernandez Diaz

José Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). His work has been published or featured in The American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Georgia Review, Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, LitHub, The Nation, Poetry, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He has been a finalist for The Andrés Montoya Prize, The Colorado Prize, The Akron Prize, and The National Poetry Series. Currently, he is an Associate Editor at Frontier Poetry and a Guest Editor at Palette Poetry. He teaches creative writing online for Litro Magazine, Frontier Poetry, and other venues.

Headshot: Víctor G. Sánchez

Photo Credit: Staff