MY LITTLE BLACK DOG

my little black dog
trots bounding into the room, happy
a bundle of energy, she comes
upstairs with the intent to disrupt me
as i work to write; distracting me
away from my task at hand, which is
to write something, anything,  worthy of value
for you the loyal reader of mine
she goes in and out between my legs
anxious and calculating how long it will
take her, to take me with her, still i sit for a moment
while the words percolate, and then slowly, methodically
they slip away from my brain, she continues to circling back
and forth, convinced that if she does it long enough, i will
have to do what she wants, as i look down at her
she wags her tail feverishly, knowing she has my attention
her chocolate brown eyes seem to say  who is more important
me or your reader? and at that, a decision must be made

by Michael Perry