puppy

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.

April 14, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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.

January 29, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the puppy’s belly whines/
screeches/
scrambles
noisily/
damn near barks
of its own accord/
warbles/
and whines/
and seems to want some sort of comfort,
but we don’t know how to give it
the comfort
it calls for/
so we just imitate/
and tell the puppy
we’re here for her
if she needs
anything

January 14, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the soundtrack of our morning
includes:
skipped songs on a playlist
whenever they have words to them,
the soft stomps of a puppy
forcing me to play with her
and whatever toy she brings me,
the tippity taps of fingers on keys
from my poetry
and kip’s programming,
and the cat
somewhere
somewhere
in this building.

January 10, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the wind howling all night
rain smack splat thwacking the windows —
the puppy and i, unable to rest our eyes,
for hoping the terror in the night
is just nature knocking a little too forcefully
on our door
[but fear it is something more];
staring into the darkness
hoping to see a clue being borne,
hoping to see the end of the storm —
unable, we slink to a different bedroom
a smaller, cozier, stiffer bedroom
thank goodness for a guest bed, one where i can
fall asleep
but i wish wish wish
it could be a bed
where i stay
a
sleep
all night
all night

alas, alack,
’tis not to be

[but at least sleep caught up with the puppy]

August 5, 2023

/ HJ / Leave a comment

we have
such a good dog!

oh
my
goodness!

when she does the things we ask of her —
so good!

when she doesn’t,
but wants to,
but gets a little confused —
very good!

when she is feeling a bit contrary
but clearly wants us
to be proud —
so good!

when she misbehaves
it’s usually because
we didn’t give her
enough attention
or exercise
or know exactly
what was going through her mind
at the time,
and that makes her
still
a good
good
dog!