the dog star

one night
a star catches his eye
it looks like one of those tiny flashing things
that are loud and fly over the house
and must be caught and destroyed
he barks and shakes his brown head, ball hanging on for dear life
you get that plane, Koda bear

the humans laugh
it’s the dog star, babe
he’s barking at the dog star

maybe he makes a wish:

oh, your great wolfyness
(bark, growl)
make it so
every night is ball night
with four meals a day
instead of just two
and make the bunnies easy to chase
and the neighbors love on us everytime we see them
and make it so every day is a snow day
but also with mud
and water to splash in
and the bed is never off limits ever
and the humans never have to leave us

and the humans think:
don’t leave me
let them run under your skies forever

flying south

the geese are flying
i watch them pass overhead
they’re heading south for winter
to be somewhere warm instead

i hear them before i see them
honking in the cloud-filled sky
the snap of the air tells them
its that time of the year to fly

my dog Koda woos and barks
when he hears them flying low
they’re heading someplace new now
i look up and watch them go

I accidentally went MIA again…just been busy at work. Everything is just exhausting lately.

AJM

Chocolate and Butterscotch

To be read as if narrated by David Attenborough

two large
pound cakes

a chocolate
and a butterscotch

wait for more
cakes of their own

disappointed
and convinced that
the next five minutes
are essential to their rate of survival

the cakes keel over
and in a weakened state

they slip into oblivious sleep
and start to snore

Our buds: Koda (chocolate lab) and Teddy (the golden)

the slipper

he woos, a muffled woo
my slipper stuffed far in his mouth
I pat his brown fur and laugh out loud
and tug it loose
naughty bear
he wags his tail

someday
my slippers will be dry
and right where I left them
and I can’t tell you how much
that breaks my heart

picture for cuteness. Koda bear ❤

Hi friends,

I accidentally went MIA these past few weeks. We went on vacation about mid-August, and well, pretty much hit the ground running once we got back. I can’t believe summer is about over 😫

AJM

at the fair

the chickens open their beaks

in a silent squawk

feathered bodies pant

melt and puddle

over wood shavings

the young girl pours water

into the tray in the cages corner

“Jessica needs more water”

“I’m so nervous”

“First place, master showman, I can’t believe it”

off in the corner

several family members

wait and melt in a hundred degrees

with love and pride dripping down their foreheads

and flies batting at their knees