"I see that I'm too late," I said
"You don't see a damn thing. Open your eyes," he said.
There was a train due, or that had already departed, or
that never was, or that was, but had long since gone.
"I think about the dog. A lot. I miss the dog."
"There was no dog," he said, taking a drag.
"Think about it," he added, blowing smoke my way.
There was a dog, but not his dog, or not the dog
he thought I meant, which we never had.
"There was a dog." I was determined, and a little angry.
He laughed and took off his hat, dangling it from his hand.
"Whatever you say, you fucking crazy bitch."
Trains look small at a distance, deadly from up close.
There is time for one to become the other, either way.
I didn't answer. I wore a veil like a death mask.
I wore a small tam like a zucchetto. Pax vobiscum.
"Wait here forever if you want, I'm leaving," he said
and stood up, but lingered, finishing his unfiltered.
"You still love me. I know you do," I said softly, viciously.
"You don't know shit. Try opening your mail sometimes."
There are letters that form words, others that stand for things;
letters one saves for years, others forgotten on a hall table.
"I miss that dog. he was a good dog," I said,
but there was no one there, and the station was gone.
__________
belatedly for Dora's Dverse Poetics: Dialogue It In! I will share with OLN.
Image: Kate Bishop and Lucky the Pizza Dog
Music: Lydia Gray Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
You spill words like blood, Shay, with a jagged edge delicately applied. Yours, in awe, my friend.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is fantastic. “ Trains look small at a distance, deadly from up close.” as the next, unexpected, but necessary line that takes us both near and far, small and deadly. And Peace be with you. And then this: “There are letters that form words, others that stand for things;
ReplyDeleteletters one saves for years, others forgotten on a hall table.”
clearly I'm demented. someone like him who denies dogs, i was kinda hoping he slipped onto the tracks before the oncoming train ~
ReplyDeleteBrilliant.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your conversation about a dog, Shay. It’s down to earth and realistic. I’ve had similar ones. I particularly like the lines about trains looking small at a distance and deadly from up close – like life – and letters.
ReplyDeleteI love this and the conversation about the dog, or maybe the idea of a dog, reminds me a bit of the mood in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" which was a favorite book of mine (though very sad for the dog), and yes the line about the train also captured me.
ReplyDeletemy thoughts after reading your hauntingly beautiful poem:
ReplyDeletethere are hats that offer protection, others for decoration;
hats one wears daily, others reserved for jubilee.
your poem got me thinking about hats/masks, church, and a host of things we hide (or fail to see). xx, ren
Often when I read quick back-and-forth dialogue I find it stilted, but not so here. I connected with this and felt worried about the missing dog, the love which was absent. And, I felt my heart yearn for my own beloved dogs I've had over the years which are no longer--so much so that I had to give Cooper (my current lovepup) some love after reading this! Also, this remind me of Papa Hemingway's style, too.
ReplyDeleteThis is an especially dazzling write, Shay, a big complex canvas whereon you have painted a nuanced shadow-show that flickers and gleams its truths from behind a veil of distance and metaphor. Is the speaker experiencing, inventing, remembering, dreaming a conversation with herself, or with perhaps God? Is it pure converse with a memory, or with the vagaries of fate or literally with the alien personality of an Other? Is it surreal or all too real, or a skilled amalgam of both? I am at a loss for words as to how to praise it properly. I will just say, one of your very best, and that puts it among the best out there anywhere. I am in love with the last two stanzas, in particular. And the dog. Very fine writing.
ReplyDeleteAs Joy says, this is dazzling. Such depth in the exchange, the story behind the poem suggesting so much the reader can only guess at. The character of the man is so clearly drawn, and the dog........well, my heart believes there definitely was a dog.
ReplyDeleteI love the conversational tone and depth of this poem, Shay ❤️❤️
ReplyDelete