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