talking to our dog
even though she only understands
some
english words and vocabulary
and seeing her head
tilt
to try to understand everything we’re saying
we’re trying to communicate
when all we’re really trying to do
is get her to get a toy
to bring to us
so we can all play
but her ability to remember where any toy is
is far worse than her understanding of language
so we say the name
and sign the sign
and she looks around
just past the toy we have in mind
confused
and whimper-barks for help
stamping her little puppy feeties
until we stand
and point
and grab
and then she gets so excited
for doing it right/for being able to play once more
and we all do it
all over again
and again and again
every morning
and every morning
it brings me such
joy
Computer is a Dog
June 21, 2026
here
is all the dog fur
you could ever want
and then some
and then some more
and more and more and more and more
until it’s everywhere
until you’re sick of it
until you’re breathing it in and sneezing it out
every morning
every night
until you realize your wardrobe has shifted to black
right around the time you got a white and tan dog
and her fur is everywhere
you try to hug her
it’s on your body
you try to fold laundry
whoops, you placed that shirt on the bed
which is where she sleeps
which is covered in dog fur
you try to cuddle up with a blanket
spend time with your spouse
walk around your house
and you
your clothes
your body
your socks
are so coated in dog fur
if you happen to walk in stocking feet
elsewhere
you leave footprints of dog fur
where ever you pass
but this dog is so good
you wouldn’t give her up
for anything
[but maybe we could give her a bath
every once in a while…]
May 11, 2026
this puppy
obsessed with this cheese bone
she’ll never forget
that it sits on the window sill
waiting for her
taunting her
with it’s strong smell
and stronger memories
of hours spent
gnawing
and licking
and chomping
and obsessing
why oh why can’t her humans see
just how much she
deserves
her cheese bone
back
she whines
she barks
she sighs
we do not give it back
April 17, 2026
kip is home!
kip is back!
literally
everyone
in this house
[including kip]
is so happy they are home!
the puppy snoofed and kissed and croodled
the cat hasn’t left the couch by kip’s side
for more than a few minutes
and i have been in a far more
relaxed state
feeling more like myself
with my kip by my side
[and kip feels the same
with me by theirs]
it’s so strange and beautiful to have found
this wonderful little family
April 16, 2026
knock
knock
knock
says construction?
someone outside?
a random sound?
both myself and the puppy are surprised
and guarded
guarding the house and all its insides
from the potential
knock
knock
knock
of a hammer
or strong strong fist
or even an unknown piece of equipment
it left
it stopped
as quickly as it started
and the echoing
knock
knock
knock
plays in my ears
once the ringing of the puppy’s barks
disappears
i wonder
what
in the world
that
knock
knock
knock
actually was…
April 1, 2026
a moment
with a stray cat
yelling at me as i looked past the spot
i usually check
for cats
a moment
with a hawk
screeching over my head
and actually seeing it
soar
away
a moment
with all the birds
who eat the cat food we put out for the strays,
the starlings and mockingbirds and robins and wrens and blue jays
[would they all actually eat the bird food
if we put up a bird feeder, or is purina
always going to be their
meal of choice?]
a moment
with our silly dog
whining at all the other
canines walking past
a moment
with squirrels
with skunks
with raccoons and possums at night
with rats along the indoor subway line
and the pigeons flocking outside
i cannot express what it means
to me
to have all these animals around us
and
get to take advantage of living inside the city
the bronx is truly a beautiful place
February 9, 2026
it’s destroying me
this whole “don’t touch the animals” track
we’ve been on lately
i am a puppy croodler
a cat lap person
a snuggler and kisser of all animals around me
[so long as they let me]
and petting them
brings me
such joy
but with the swelling
and the red eyes
and the misery that benadryl barely breaks up at night
i suppose not touching the animals
because i am
*technically*
allergic
is a smart move
[but the misery could also be alleviated
with a soft and floofy cuddle…]
[damn body
attacking me
for one of the few good things in my life]
January 26, 2026
trying to write poetry
as our guest cat rubs his face
all over my hands
and arms
and laptop
and screams for attention
and pines for the outside
i know he does not miss
he is clearly far more at home
in a lap
than in the snow
we named him Tab
because he seems intrigued by Computer
and we can always pretend
it’s because he’s a tabby cat
and i love him so much
but i’ll be happy
to have my own cat love me again
when we no longer have a guest feline
interrupting our day to day
but i could not could not could not leave him
outside in the negative lows
and two feet of forecasted snow
so
i let him walk into our house
and our lives
and he is so sweet
and so loving
and so nice
[and even kip is smitten]
but, like any good cat, he also hassles a fair bit,
and though i’ll miss his antics
and jumps
and hundred different meows
all made using his
whole entire face,
he’s gotta get fixed
and maybe find a home
somewhere far away from
the outside that he knows —
thank goodness for friends
with shelters
they help run
January 22, 2026
puppy snoofs
plant droops
kip shivers
first-appointment jitters
calmed by music and poetry
and coffee
December 18, 2025
this puppy
is so damn cute
i cannot handle it
i cannot handle it
playing with the squeaker of a long-gone toy
placing it gently in my hand
and nudging it forward
for me to throw
and the utter delight as she scrambles
on all of her feeties
trying to catch the squeaker as it bounces
unevenly
across the floor
or the container from yesterday’s dog ice cream
handing it off to me
in order to play tug
or just lick it some more
getting the last little bits of flavor
out from the waxed cardboard
or just laying on the ground
and looking up at me
with her giant, beautiful, trusting, dark-rimmed
puppy dog eyes
and white eyebrows
[evolutionarily placed there
just so her species
could mimic mine]
and i don’t always know what she’s thinking
but i know she’s trying to communicate with me
with little
stomps of her feet
or half-breathy boofs
or a hesitant wag of her tail
or just a side-look
and my heart melts
and i am putty for her
because she is putty for me
and we collapse into each other
enjoying being
puppy and human
and not too dissimilar
for a moment
in time
