insanity rides her bicycle
across the sky
skirts of birds
askew
another day at the office
another pot of coffee
another visit to the therapist
do not drink the ink
he's a doberman
all bones and stiff a spot
of blood on his raw end of tail
he's sleeping on the discarded mattress
across the street
from the shop
in the morning he stands at our gate
the boys let him in
feed him
the pigeon carries his stick
across the lot between our two companies
home?
home midtown cleveland
wharehouse desolation
brick house
a man and his dog sleep
behind a padlock
midtown cleveland where the doberman screams
when i leave pathetic howling
from inside the gate
You're driving hojme
wings flapping
you see the buzzard
eats the entrails
of the pigeon
still alive in the street
chase and boulder
you hold in both hands
come down on the pigeon's head
we're waiting for the happy drop
wally says
the doberman will cost a thousand
to fix hips bad
wally says to turn
his stiff bones into permanent sleep
the pigeon picks up a stick
too long
puts it down
you can't bring the crying dog
into your home
a man says
he's seen the dogs' faces
and they're smarter
than people
you feel sick
all the fish are swimming upside down
city birds, city dogs first appeared
in the Summer 2002 issue of doubting thomas quarterly
|
wendy shaffer, the goddess of cleveland
poetry, also happens to live in cleveland, which is convenient if one holds
this title.
city birds, city dogs
|
