shot glass
title
nz shot glass
Issue # 2 September 2010
"... brevity is the soul of wit ..."
- William Shakespeare

John Smith


Page 1 | 2 | 3

The Neighbor's Dog

If you fall asleep to geese chortling with the moon,
the neighbor's dog will shame you with its barking.

If you fall asleep to rain playing the tin roof
like black keys on a toy piano at the bottom of a lake,
the neighbor's dog will shame you with its barking.

If you can't sleep, it's probably the barking.
No aria there.

Nor is the bark staking a claim, heralding a friend
or the moment.
It is by no means a transcendent chant.

Eyes, teeth, and cyclone fencing glisten with rain
in the yellow porch light.
Each accusation snaps at the wind.