I named my first dog Angel
We would sit, knees and paws, in cold mud
Under the aged wooden porch
In Tennessee.

In Tennessee, my father would build fires
From the fallen leaves in the yard
And the smoke followed us
Under the porch.

Under the porch, Angel and I sat
Looking up at the dancing particles above
Illuminated from the angled sun rays
Seeping between the cracks from the porch.

Seeping between the cracks from the porch
Came the darkness after sunset
Angel and I fled to the fires from father
Embracing the Tennessee smoke.