weight, gentle against the softness of
my belly; there, mandible, and the
other: ribbons of cornflower fettering
hollow-bird-bones soothing
dessicated pinions; chasing the
empty billow 'neath ribs swelling, stretching, the
emptiness of the throat; gazing down; stroking
gentle against a silken cranium; pressure
points, GV20 TH21 GB20, then
down the pinna,
watched with placid wet eyes. Fingers
weave into your scruff, curling, longing;
consumed.

The hounds sniff the ground,

fallen leaves and moss, they are --


no longer hunting.

It’s a doggie dog world so watch where you step
Foot in mouth syndrome is spreading like strep
But a house of prevention is worth more than liqueur
Have a spoon full, a mind full, are you feeling demure?  

Inside effects may include outlaws of vision
But don’t freeze your auntie, make a thawed out decision
Keep on pugging, plugging a way
You will fly like a beagle, as every doc has his day

While thyme keeps on dripping into the tincture
And limericks rhyme everything, except the kitchen sphincter
Now refill your subscription and do as I say
Because a Hornaday keeps the doctor away

And give us this tray, our daily meds
While terrier-ism threatens to Smirnoff our heads
It’s a mystery wrapped in poodle, but misery loves coventry
And it takes a heckuva lot, to go parking up a wrong tree

Just another Shih-Tzu day, making trouble in paradise
Ain’t nothing but a ground hog, gone skating on the nice
Though I wouldn’t herd a fly, or let a wafer stray
Don’t doubt the Roman knows my aroma was built in a day

O to be as light as the sky,
To have the earth look up at you and admire your beauty,
To be loved by the birds and hugged by the clouds
I lay onto the icy gravel and look towards the heavens.
Am I too heavy?

I will know what love feels like...

It is lonely,
I want the night's glittering infinity,
To feel the world shine for me and me only
I want to chase the big planets of the sky as i did the ***** i fetched on concrete lawns

I was born to love unconditionally, and so i was chosen for something very special
Scientists take me from the cold and give me a home,
They will give me strange food and show me things beyond my comprehension.

I want to understand...

It's scary, they put me in ship much too small for my already thin body.
There is no light and i'm shivering from fear,...
Or the cold,
I can't seem to spot the difference between the two

The doubt begins to set and I am alone again,
But they tell me I'm prepared to fly,
Higher than the birds,
Higher than the sky.

I plan to be as extraordinary as i promised...

Far from my home the exploding adrenaline scares me,
The tip of my tail is hidden between my shaking legs,
And my heart races faster than the breath that heaves in my chest

There is this everlying, unfamiliar, stink
It won't go away
Something is wrong and i can feel it
Feel it all
There's a faint sound of flaking metal in the distance
It is of no comfort to me.

I am afraid...

The flames warm my worries and within breach of the cold atmosphere,
I can feel the embrace of death caressing me
The impending doom starts to fade away and there is only peace,
Finally peace.

My canine body is now long gone,
Rained onto Soviet soil,
But they are unsurprised.
Was I never supposed to come back?

I know how love feels.

They will remember me
When they look up at the sky and watch my spirit play with the constellations

Although it remains unfinished,
My mission on earth has been completed...
I have kissed the stars for humanity

-To Laika, the space dog

In anti-intruder apprenticeships
The tiniest tiny canines yips
At any passing tread
Because it’s def con red.  
A zombie will flee from shih tzu nips.

by the light of the m👀n
in the blue @fterⁿ°°ⁿ
həy ****** ******
a cat p!ays a fiddle,
a li'l d●g nam'd Skiffle
laffs like fracking a maniac,
& a cøw jnmps
👁ver a runcible §poon)

Had to call him Ziggy
It fit so well
Just a coincidence
I quite like
David Bowie

Wouldn't describe him as affectionate
A fuss when home from work
Then off to an empty room
"I want to be alone"

Now I'm put off by needy things
In the end they repel me
So Ziggy has the psychological
Upper hand on me
I'm needy for his affection

Ziggy the strange dog
When having a poo
Looks like a frog

Wish I could say
It's just me
But every day
Someone makes a comment
"He's a handsome boy"
"Where did you get him from"
"Wow, he can jump"

Now I stand in Ziggy's shadow
Someone asked another
"Do you know Nick?"
"Oh yeah,  it's Ziggy's dad!"

In welcome old Fido is barking
But cats are too haughty for marking
If tenants are home,
Or off on a roam.  
A shut-in gets cranky and carking.

there's this theory, my mom once told me,
that liars are always reincarnated as dogs
i've been thinking a lot about people dying lately
and i've also started counting time in dog years
according to such, it's been about two long dog decades
i don't miss you anymore, and i'm about done grieving you
(you would've just called me out- i'm a liar through and through)
and i found that if i drink enough, you're still here, well and alive
your mom never cries or loops your old playlists when she drives
your dad never comes over to gift me souvenirs from your life
your sister never learns to shape grief into an essay in one night
no, you're still helping her brainstorm what exactly to write
we stay up together, on facetime, stressing the the entire night
and she chooses premed because of a torn ACL, not a torn family
and we spend hours debating if she should submit her SATs
and grief is only ever-so-distant, yet only oh-so-familiar
we have it our way: it is never more than a recognizable stranger
i write you in present tense, you agree: dogs in our next life
i gaslight, i lose my mind, i'm convinced anything's worth a try-
so, how many poems do you think i have to write
for it to be enough to bring a friend back to life?