Speak!

Ode to Seven

He watches me with large
Brown eyes
Their depth of expression a vibration
I have not yet evolved to comprehend

Eye to eye

As I tear into cooked flesh
Shredding it from its bone
An animal instinct that ravages through
Both of us
He does not cry nor beg for it
Nor try to convince me to share it
He only stares
With an intensity so that I must
Stop

Then

A millisecond of complete connectedness
Passes through me with a clarity
Such that my fork hangs mid-mouth

What makes him unworthy of this prize?
This roasted bird with its succulent scent
Has not his loyalty to the pack been great?
Has he not been a strong warrior
Protecting his king and castle?
Yet night after endless night he is never
Rewarded with the honor of the day's feast
He will be better tomorrow, he will be!
So then maybe…

And as I try to brush away the knowledge
Of which I have just come to know
And what surely must be his moment of triumph
Where our vibrations connected
And I heard him

Speak

I must
Before the devastation of my human shortcomings
Grumbles louder than my appetite
Quickly remind myself
That he is just
A dog.