labrador retriever at 3:23 AM
the dog whines to go outside
i walk slow from my bedroom
down the steep steps
and he clumsily follows
“don’t knock me down
the goddamn stairs!”
i stage whisper
– he snorts
we emerge
into crisp Cleveland
he relieves himself
on the hydrangea bush
amber streetlights
illuminate the leaves
splaying patterns
across my pale limbs
cool air carries
close scents:
hot piss
a distant skunk
he smells the wind
and comes back inside
to drink water like a moose
my mind seeks
the gentle tones
of human voices
rustling in the treetops
i whisper back
to the breeze
“Stan’s a good boy”
and pet his velvet ears
he is already asleep
unfathomably peaceful
a cozy, rounded-corner
of blackness
