the puppy’s barks are sharp
as she tries to get her ball out from under the radiator
and asks me to help her,
but the cat is on my lap
and i cannot give up this comfort and heat
on this chilly morning
after dropping my kip off at the airport
for a work trip, so we must endure
her plaintive wails
and scrambles to get the toy herself —
that is until i realize
she may need a similar comfort
as her kip is gone too
nevermind, she got the ball herself
she’s practically a grown a-dog now
just before
a big trip
the anticipation
the nerves
the excitement
the hours and hours of ‘what to do’
audiobooks
and d&d style games
and maybe just chatting
and maybe singing with musicals
and maybe
just maybe
the animals will connect
the way we usually do
on long car trips
nothing
is as comforting
as an animal
who loves you
the trust inherent
when they fall asleep
precariously perched on your lap
or cuddle up
so close
they are lierally on top of your legs
and they feel emotionally comfortable enough
to completely pass out
dreaming eyes
running feeties
wagging tails
in their sleep
purring until you too
are dreaming
it’s a comfort i wish i could give others
but i’ll just have to count myself lucky
to have built it in my
hassle animals
a little puppy
bonked my face last night —
a big old thwack
right at the forehead
breaking my glasses [almost]
and giving me the slightest extra pigmentation
underneath my right eye
with a little red lump above the brow.
and i can’t even be mad
because we riled up the pup,
and i stuck my face right beside her
tough tough cranium
but she calmed when she needed to,
and cuddled up beside me
as i waited for pain killers
and ice packs
and comfort from my kip
and she is still a good good dog.
taking time from poetry
to pat the cat on my lap
or encourage the puppy to play with her ball
or say random sentences to kip about
the randomness in my brain
[what i usually use this poetry outlet to express or explain]
which all makes for great connections
but not necessarily good morning writings
the cat, on her perch, on her throne of my lap
leers over the puppy, resting innocently on the ground
unperturbed by the feline creeping closer,
as she jumps to the ground, and the puppy
stays still as a statue, only her nose going,
the cat passes, and the puppy wishes
so hard that they could play
at least for a moment
at least for a day
at least for a lifetime
the puppy prays,
but the cat is only interested
in food and hassles
and annoying all other animals
in this house.
the puppy has no recourse, no resource to break into the cat’s heart
so she waits, calmly, for the next opportunity to start
it all over again.
is this a time so say i
love sitting just in the outside
sun shining down but shade keeping up
and puppies beside me continuing to pup
the puppy howls for us
and the howl turns into a growl
which explodes into one more bark
and that is our alert
that there are neighbors
in
the neighbor’s yard
how dare.
the ground was muddy this morning
from the past three nights’ rains,
and though the puppy hates to be toweled off
[especially of her feeties]
i successfully tricked her
into doing it for her-self —
i laid out the towel
knowing
she couldn’t resist
stepping on it
and circling on it
and pouncing on it
and lying on it
and walking on it
and stretching on it
and nesting on it
and i think her paws are damn near dry now
with just fifteen minutes of a towel laid out
inconspicuously
on the floor
the cat has been getting
braver
and brazener —
coming down the stairs to the level of the dog,
sometimes for curiosity
sometimes for food
sometimes for cuddles
and sometimes just to force the issue
of the dog’s own curiosity about her —
and every time we see
the two interact
we sternly, but patiently, remind the dog
“be respectful.”
so that she knows to let the cat lead the interaction.
[the cat still likes to bait the dog
into playful antics
that just makes her cat-sprint back up the stairs,
but each time they sniff each other/
or look without pounces,
the calm lasts a tiny bit longer
i’m certain
eventually
they’ll be their own category of friends]
kipventures 