There's a dog in my house.
Actually, it is a collection of dogs -
different breeds come and go.
All of the dogs are black.
Most of the time, they sit and stare at me.
They follow me from room to room.
They even follow me out of the house, but
I dare not comment on them to others.
I suspect they are visible only to me.
An enormous mastiff wakes me in the morning.
He is scrawled across my body
weighing me down
wearing me out
And it takes all my strength to push him off me.
The Jack Russell Terrier waits in my kitchen
Trembling with all of my worry-energy
What will happen today?
What am I forgetting?
He yips and zips and
I can't hear myself think.
I make it to work with the Lab riding shotgun
She's fairly calm
but she seems to fill all of the leftover space.
She can be very distracting
Sometimes she tells me to do things
and I have to push with both hands
Leave my steering wheel alone
Jack Russell is waiting for me in the office
joined by his friend, the schnauzer
I have to check under my desk every so often
Make sure they haven't set up camp.
They follow me all day
alternately wiring me and draining me.
I concentrate on hiding them from my students and colleagues
They make so much noise in my head
What if it leaks out?
Those two hop in the backseat to come home with me
But
mercifully
the Lab is asleep
and those two soon fall as well.
Their darkness recedes when they sleep
I can concentrate on the road.
There are no dogs waiting for me at home
I can sit and relax in peace
For a little while
I can pretend that everything is fine
That I am not hounded and dogged
The dogs love the night
They know that the day and their presence
exhaust me
They know I can't fight them
So we all sit
together
in my living room
at my desk
in my kitchen
and finally
in my bed.
Sometimes I worry that other people can hear my dogs
but then I remember
I sometimes hear others' dogs
And I would never think less of them
Dogs don't always do as you ask
But they'll stick with you to the end.
I just wish my dogs weren't so loyal.
excellently said!
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