needy puppies
need treats and attention
and consoling when in pain
and constant playing when not
and i wouldn’t have it any other way
injured puppy
September 11, 2024
blanket cat
blankets me with all of her
over my lap
dripping down my leg
covering all she can cover
in one tiny cat body
the opposite of loafing
she liquifies and spreads out
and blankets herself
over
me
~~~
blanket cat, also because
the minute you have a blanket on your lap
she cannot resist
the draw
of a comfy place to sit
~~~
poor little puppy ear
did nothing to the dog who was near
but something happened
and the bite landed
and now a little notch is part of our Comps’s visage
poor little puppy ear
poor little puppy
you don’t deserve this pain
or fear
or anything bad
but at least your cute scruffy ear is going to look
so adorable with a tiny notch on the side
[the one piece of solace
we have to hang on to]
July 14, 2023
red-eyed puppy
gazing soulfully
through her cone
trying to sleep
through pain
and excitement
trying to calm
herself
through rough times
and cat visits
and trying to occupy her time
through crate-rest boredom
how long does this puppy have to stay
without an outlet
for her puppy energy?
June 23, 2023
hungry
worried
early
morning
mundane and
not so mundane
worried
so worried
still hungry
~~~
calm morning
of stress
wanting
less
of the drama that comes from
this little broken puppy pup
but still
we’d rather
have her
all torn ligaments
and fractured bones
and menacing hassles
than not
~~~
it’s so strange to hear
simple
calm
piano
in the morning
i’m used to
acid jazz
and electronic house
and more chaotic sounds
to wake up to
but the calm simplicity
seems to be helping me
find more in my poetry
(and harmonizes well with a sighing puppy)
May 20, 2023
how can i remember
remembering
but can no longer remember
the actual thing?
~~~
it hurts my soul
to see our puppy so
sad and distressed
standing still in a cage
but it’s for her own good
and i wish
i wish
i could
explain to her in words
she’d comprehend:
‘just a few more days
and after, take it easy
and then, hopefully,
no more
puppy
prison’
~~~
how do people
craft poetry
instead of just letting
their guts fly free
internal thought process
and emotionality
all nakedly out
for any perusing
reading
eye to see?
May 15, 2023
speaking back to our dog
in words as she barks
whines
shrieks
because she
hurt her leg
*again*
(is this the fifth time? sixth? seventh that we are aware of?)
(definitely the third since surgery)
and the worst part of all this is,
to her little puppy brain,
having to stay still in a cage
while we are out, but within her sight—
caught in crate rest
unable to express her freedom;
how terribly cruel, she must think us,
for insisting she lay herself down
rather than hop up on two legs
(only one of which is at full health)—
and yet she continues to speak at us
in ways we don’t quite understand
(and least in an exact kind of way,)
but we know her intruder barks
her ‘there’s a cat there!’ barks
her ‘my toy is stuck somewhere i can’t reach’
and her ‘my best friend is outside without me!’
and this is definitely a ‘why can’t i just be myself
and roam rambunctiously free’ bark
but if she continues
to freak out
and only listen to her commands
for a few seconds at a time,
it will be puppy solitary
for the next little while
(which feels more cruel
but at least she stops
being a menace to her own
health)
February 18, 2023
the cat
has her zoomies
up and down the upstairs hall
back and forth
from bathroom to
under-the-bed
and we
(below the galloping stomps and stomping gallops)
ask
“is she having more zoomies than usual?”
“isn’t she a senior cat now?”
“is she maybe training to play with the puppy
once the puppy is all healed
and is allowed to play once more?”
i hope hope hope hope hope
the answer to that last question
is yes
January 28, 2023
i hate seeing our puppy
in pain
and distress
but it’s almost sadder to see her
happy
and jovial
and so very puppy-like
when we know we can’t let her
act on that energy
for another full month
lest she break something else
my goodness
this puppy
December 24, 2022
find sure footing
feel no floating
establish boundaries
no barriers
to your creativity
with only words
~~~
i did it
i performed
and this poem would be so much better
if i’d written it that
(or the next)
day
but i have to say
the feelings
of musical theatre magics
are starting to sneak up on me
again
(and i’m really unsure
how i feel about
that)
~~~
staying up
until midnight
to give the pup
the pill she needs
to not be in pain
all night long
but for me
for my mind
i probably should have been asleep hours ago…
November 17, 2022
poor injured puppy
(i didn’t even know dogs could get
ACL tears)
(i mean, that’s not technically the diagnosis
but that’s essentially what it is
when compared with
human injuries)
and it’s common
and it’s [most likely] not going to need surgery
(knock on wood)
but
it’s so tough seeing puppies in pain
and it’s so tough when we just had our old dog
do so many procedures and things
and we just want our puppy to be able to
have the zoomies
run around
be a puppy
but
she is stuck
in puppy jail
for her own
good
kipventures 