"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