Our youngest dog, Indy,
insists on sleeping under the pillow
at my side. How well they’ve trained us,
our hearts I mean.

I’m on my own
so alone
The world is messed up
So why not give up

She’s good
But you treat her bad

Is that your way of saying:
Go to hell and stop praying

Are you dissing
Or just messing

Cause she’s at the end
So tell her all that wasn’t meant

She cries for help
Silently
but that doesn’t help

Give her one reason
and maybe she can live another season

This old bed's so cold it keeps us awake
And the roof, it leaks - when wet it may break.
We don't hear complaints from the rafters
In silence they cry, an absence of laughter.
Despite our struggles, the dog still gets cuddles
We're the best of friends, don't call me his master.
The dog's by my side with his faithful brown eyes
Together we weather the storms and survive.
We walk by the lake, come rain or shine
He searches for rabbits and I long for a time

October seventeenth
nineteen hundred sixty one
and October seventeenth
two thousand twenty four
represents, signals,
and traces sixty three orbitz
completed round the sun.
by one cherished,
(despite lapse of calling,
emailing, or texting),
nevertheless loved,
and prized Earthling
named Shari Todd Harris-Dunning.

When sinking in the mire
Water muddy with confusion
Meaning disappears into a black swamp
Redundant words drown in brain fog
Uncertain ground too soft to stand on

When you struggle with meaning
Look at a loved one’s face
Study their facial muscles
Lips pursed, the nose upturned
The eyes have it,
The smile knows it.

yours truly (me) could not help but notice
while living social at various residences
within Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
the following described phenomena
actually observed quite some time ago
maybe back during
my carefree boyhood days of yore
that the uncontrollable spurt
analogous to a golden arch
of micturition arcing
toward parts unknown
(frequently missing the target altogether,

yours truly (me) could not help but notice
while living social at various residences
within Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
the following described phenomena
actually observed quite some time ago
maybe back during
my carefree boyhood days of yore
that the uncontrollable spurt
analogous to a golden arch
of micturition arcing
toward parts unknown
(frequently missing the target altogether,

Our dogs sometimes have trouble settling down
at night, when owls and other critters are in bloom.

Especially when we have guests.
They feel the need to check on them;
to make sure they are safe, we suppose.

Once peacefulness is confirmed
they return to the comfort of our bed,
satisfied all is well and that we are not under attack
from the goblins they might imagine.

I believed fortune cookie maxim
cryptic message couched
Apple Macbook Pro update process
alternately titled “markedly
a Luke warm welcome Matt unfurled
courtesy Jimmy John,
who embarked on
imp apostle bull mission
going to find Mark Twain.”

She asks me if these are the pants she should wear.
Or, would another glass of wine be a bad idea.

Should we go out, or stay in
and watch the movie we discussed earlier in the day.

I am not burdened by any of these queries.
These simple questions are where the love lies now.