Snapdragon Dog

I don’t read poetry! I read my dog. 
But sometimes a poem draws me in. 

Deep in the stanza is a packet of light, 
The last secret that cracks the world open quick before
slamming it shut. 
Deep in the stanza is the freedom to connect
the bizarre with the real. 
Popcorn with blowfish, snapdragon with dusk

The freedom. 

The guesswork. What is my dog saying? 

When my emotions change 
He knows to come close, look in my eye. 
We might talk. 
I’ll speak words I hope he knows by now, 
he’s 12 after all. 
Strong, Wolf, Mine. 
How’d he know my feelings that day 
40 years ago? How was he there? 
When he takes me for a walk 
I have to read his lines, one by one.

Maria Mooney
Swarthmore