[YIKES! I wrote this last night on April 24th very late at night at a hotel with WIFI and thought I’d published it but apparently it was not published. Either the hotel wifi cut out, or the dog ate it! So, it’s a day late, sorry.]
Working Like A Dog
It’s not so apt
to talk of working
like a dog.
Mine sleeps like a log all day.
Working like a malamute,
maybe, that beautiful, dutiful, drudge
who pulls a sledge,
trots, trudges,
understanding both teamwork
and leadership.
My dog understands
CHEESE.
She likes the CHEESE job.
She can tell,
by smell, sure,
whenever CHEESE appears,
but also, it seems, by some
combination of fridge door and drawer,
the shifting of legs and knife, and,
of course, the time—it’s late
when I take out the Monterey Jack–
sleep is shaken away,
logginess rolled to the side,
alertness electrifying every matted hair–
they also serve who only stand and wait.

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