Howl If You Understand

Big dog snout resting

on the heavy of my thigh

dreaming of muddy chase —

rabbit, deer, horse — but, oh,

sweet canine, keeping that

rapid brain-beat breath with me

sacred syncopated systolic who

wonders who is the holy progenitor,

monkeys or aliens, and all that

messy DNA that seemed random

at first, but is the curse of mathematics

I never could learn, all those

right angles and decisive answers.

No, stop: The dog breathes in and out,

all that I knew, all that I forgot.

Forgive the happy brain of mammals

bred to please: They sigh, grumble, sleep.

I am the conduit, I am the audience.

Bark if you know what I mean,

howl if you understand — this insight

from the moon’s one good eye comes only

so often in doggy dreams on my thigh.

Big dog snout resting

on the heavy of my thigh

dreaming of muddy chase —

rabbit, deer, horse — but, oh,

sweet canine, keeping that

rapid brain-beat breath with me

sacred syncopated systolic who

wonders who is the holy progenitor,

monkeys or aliens, and all that

messy DNA that seemed random

at first, but is the curse of mathematics

I never could learn, all those

right angles and decisive answers.

No, stop: The dog breathes in and out,

all that I knew, all that I forgot.

Forgive the happy brain of mammals

bred to please: They sigh, grumble, sleep.

I am the conduit, I am the audience.

Bark if you know what I mean,

howl if you understand — this insight

from the moon’s one good eye comes only

so often in doggy dreams on my thigh.