Ms. Marcus says that an occasional poem is a poem
written about something
important
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.