This poem was published in The Avenue Journal, Issue X: Dogs
Watchdog
Kathy O’Fallon
He picks up his head and listens,
ears perked for clues (culprit
the boisterous full moon).
Though he rarely joins in the gossip,
Tanker can’t resist the news,
and when coyotes report obituaries
in their high-pitched cackle,
though his bulk outweighs them all,
he jackknifes into my belly on the bed,
licks my face for reassurance
that he isn’t dead.
Kathy O’Fallon’s poems have been published in journals, magazines, and anthologies such as RATTLE, MER, and Kestrel, along with three chapbooks and a fourth scheduled for release this fall, Variations on a Theme of Love. Listening for Tchaikovsky has been a finalist in several length contests. She is a clinical psychologist in Carlsbad, CA.
You can purchase The Avenue Journal Issue X: Dogs in paperback at Bookshop.org, or, if you prefer it in digital format, you can download the ebook in .epub format for pay-what-you-can (suggested donation $9) at ko-fi.