Category Archives: Fang & Claw

Flip

Flip
I tossed a little shade one day,
felt too bold along my way.

Then came the light, the long delay,
and fate pulled up to make me pay.

We froze like statues made of clay,
no blink, no breath, no words to say.

His look said more than I could spy:
“Flip me off? You sure, my guy?”

I faced the road, whimpered some too,
and promised I would never stray
from keeping my hands at ten and two
with bigger dogs in the fray.

Backbeat

Vsevolozhsk Backbeat

I have danced in public once in my life.
For my wedding.
Took a lesson.

But I secretly dance every day,
though I guess it’s no longer a secret.

For the dogs,
and the setting shadow
against the back wall.

All attempted rhythms
and contorted shapes,
but my Byrne is spot on.

They know:
if sound and fury
finds a backbeat,
it signifies everything.

And sometimes,
when the song ends
and the room cools again,

I stand still in the quiet.
One breath,
two,
and wait to see
if the house will dance back.

Most nights it doesn’t.
But some evenings,
the dogs catch it:
their paws thump the floor,
their tails swing in time,
and the room moves again,
alive in its own applause.