---
categories:
- Poem
- Rated G
counts:
    characters_real: 316
    characters_total: 398
    file: _posts/2015-03-05-the-dogs-assure-me.md
    paragraphs: 4
    type: jekyll
    words: 75
date: 2015-03-06
layout: post
tags:
- Animals
- Poetry
title: The Dogs Assure Me
---

<div class="verse">
The dogs assure me:
There are volumes of meaning &mdash;
Life and death &mdash;
And time;
Past, present, future &mdash;
In the scent of a rotting fish left after the flood,
Or a trace of scat,
Or the coyote, long passed,
But not everyone reads poetry.

I'm not so lucky, all told:
The rich scent of meaning &mdash;
Heady, intoxicating &mdash;
Rises only from words
And the way you rest your hands on the table.
</div>

-----

*Published in Civilized Beasts 2016*