Alone after the news on a bitter
evening in the country, sleet slashing
the stubbled fields, the river ice;
at the end of a bad year. Trees begin
to outnumber houses. Rain turns to snow
as fields hang like paintings.
Once loyal to a cruel master,
the dog moves like a man who
not so long ago weighed a lot less
The dog weighs twelve pounds
and uses them as she pleases.
The king-size bed is not big enough.