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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Poem 3/30- You have never had a dog?


The hardest part about April is dropping my standards enough to just put something on paper. I know this isn't that great, and isn't really what I want, but it's the best I can do tonight.

"You have never had a dog?"

"I've never had a dog," she says.

You have never had a dog?
I think, incredulously.
You have never
had a shadow
follow you adoringly
from room to room to room
the center of a universe.

You have never had a dog?
I think, incredulously.
You have never brought
that last bite of toast to your lips
only to withdraw it
because adoring brown eyes
claimed it as theirs.

You have never had a dog?
I think, incredulously.
You have never
sat on the side of a lake
watching a sleek black lab
red leash trailing behind
paddle joyfully, endlessly
through hot summer day.

You have never had a dog?
I think, incredulously.
You have never
had warm presence
leaning anxiously against you
while you wept
your way through
a falling apart world.

You have never had a dog?

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2019

2 comments:

  1. I love the repetition here. This feels like a draft of a picture book manuscript to me! (I am wondering if your dog poems could be revised at the end of the month just for that purpose.)

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  2. Yes. The repetition is so powerful. And yes, I think you'll have a book!!!

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