May 12, 2020

my dog can’t tell time so well anymore

he could do a lot better a few years ago

always leaping off the couch at ten

for his supper before going to his bed

or waiting for the mailman near noon

to bark his furry little head off over

an invasion of floor-falling envelopes

but these days the clock confounds him

it is not so bad in the evening when

at seven he starts thinking it’s eight

pacing the couch end-to-end

wondering why his meal hasn’t arrived

as we giggle at his worried impatience

it is more bad in the mornings when

at five he starts thinking it’s eight

pacing his bed round-and-round

wondering why he hasn’t been rescued

as we dream of our forsaken pillow