puppy

January 2, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

Computer has officially
exited her shark era;
turning a solid three-years-old,
she is no longer a puppy who will bite
everything she can get her teefies on.
so we celebrated by having a long walk
in her shark halloween costume,
playing in the park
with her best dog friend,
and getting an ice cream
and a new shark toy
once home again.
and she celebrated the way she does
every other day —
by being the happiest,
most tail-waggedy,
puppiest puppy
we’ve ever seen.

[even if the shark era has ended, i believe
the puppy era will continue on
forever]

December 13, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

WOOF
BOOF
says the puppy,
protecting us from the
unfamiliar sounds of
car doors
and trucks revving
outside

what a brave puppy!
but what she does
doesn’t actually protect us

[i hope she thinks it does
tho]

November 24, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i haven’t done my regularly scheduled morning poetry
in days
because of social times
and busy-ness
and re-discovering art
and then
our poor puppy
having so much gi distress
we’re parents of a newborn
sleeping when she sleeps
and waking the moment she indicates
she may have
another accident

at least i can do things for my kip
like be ready with the wipes when they get back inside
or take one of the overnight outsides
so they can grab a little extra sleep
because at least i can nap during the day
they can’t
even without work
their day is
set
with awake

the puppy and i will nap on the same couch
we’ve been sleeping on for days
and again
even during the daylight
i’ll sleep when she sleeps
and be privy to her stirrings
immediately

September 11, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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]

September 10, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

interesting
interesting
i wrote but i didn’t post
yesterday

i wonder what that means
i wonder what that means

and the puppy just freaked out and boof-howled
but she hadn’t done that with Kip not around

i wonder what that means

and the cat has been perching on my lap
far more in the last couple of weeks
than since we lost Louka

i think i might know what that means

and additionally
i feel like
my writing has gotten
so
much
worse
lately

i wonder
what
that
means

September 3, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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

July 18, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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

July 16, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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.