You can’t leave a dog outside for too long
she’ll pace the yard
the dog will think about its mother — a thought we never imagine it to wonder back to
a dog will wander
she’ll wonder why your eyes have dimmed
and why you’ve forgotten to fill her water bowl
Ten minutes to her feels like ten hours
her perception of pain is inconceivable to you
a thorn stuck in her paw for
three moments feels
to her
Three hours of agony
a dog will wait endlessly, devoted
she will wait in the yard
through the snow fall in January
she’ll bite at her wounds
she will wait calmly
and when you remember she will greet you happily
with a gift she hunted for you
She drops the dead mole at your feet
you’ll feel guilt as she limps inside
worn by cold and wind and limerence
she won’t think of her mother
