I want to tell you this:
it is as though I care
to pierce to slice
have you see
my petrified indifference
flayed skin spread
but
I skewer myself
only
and you don’t notice
can’t notice
will not notice
couldn’t care
wouldn’t care
more
or less
and so I dupe myself
with my own baying
anger I *****
from gulping at scraps and feeling
fawning gratitude
for tidbits
I
am
your
dog
panting for whatever
is left
lapping it up
with slobbering tongue
nosing around
the floor where
I don’t belong but
where I allow myself
to be. I may
be your
dog
but I won’t
beg
anymore.