near-dyslexic mutt's hymnal to the purebred with aching joints

I

the neighborhood dogs
are gossiping to each other
about us
as we pass.
true,
yr not really here,
but
i have chiseled something like you
out of ivory
& it is here,
animated by the alcohol.
'pygmalion had shaky hands'
i hear one whisper-
bark. a shivaree of
paws against chain
link
fences,
a choir.


II

'yr an oak of copious sparrows!
be still!'
is a possible interpretation
of what real-you
said to me
one night.
i ask statue-you
what she thinks
& she isn't sure.
i don't trust her
i built her
all wrong.
(she sounds too much
like me &
not enough like you)
i am
idolist. blasphemer. parrot.
i hold on to
everything you've ever said
& now
that is all
i want to hear
so i repeat it to myself
give me a cracker
dear
i will shut
up.


III

the plebs might
wonder
why i am walking
around with statue-you
& not real-you.
you’ll laugh! because you know
(let us not be rude) it is
because i tip-
toed where i should have
stomped i whimpered when
i should have roared
i wrappd long fingrs
around an intense smell
and let go
when i should have kissed,
but, well,
they get the picture.


IV

o what they should be asking
is where i am headed!
if it is away from you,
then the coward is irredeemable
& deserves
his sad idol & the dogs
have every right to pass
judgment.


V

but if the coward is headed
toward yr house, to present
the statue as a gift, to fight
for the ground
he ceded, then
the audience may even cheer for
him! but i am running
out of time and i may or may
not have decided
if i want to be
selfish &.or if i should
do the 'nawble' thing: walk
off into the night with statue-you
& let the dogs have
their laugh.
o, o, dogs are knowing;
they can talk to clouds
& will tell you
if a storm is
coming i asked
one once. the bitch
said 'woof'
all warm tongue'd
& i winked
in comprehension.


VI

the solipsist is tired,
converted.
you exist!
his old philosophies
must die.
the denier
becomes the denied. he
listens to
the real
mystagogues, the dogs,
wet, black
noses &
swinging tails, censers
chanting
panting
rolling on their backs
in love,
for love
chests raised to the sky
clouds and
clouds of
smiles, tongues out.


VII

doubt, stultifying doubt,
fall out of
my shoes!
i have some amount of
running to do.
ivory statues can't walk
what am i doing here?
i have some amount of
running to do.


VIII

about
face,
yr
face,
don't
let me
leave
tail-
tucked.
raise yr
hackels
at the
statue
in yr
yard.
i've
been
playing
dead
all
my
life.


IX

intruder!
   intruder!
the temples are burning.
craft a new pantheon
with me
or sacrifice this dog
to yr old god.
may my blood
bring rain,
may my blood
be rivers
collecting storm
water. i am flood,
i am guile.
the temples are burning.
sacrifice this dog
for yr old god.
i am no heirophant,
but i hear that yours
is a distant lord,
stopped answering
prayers. our gods
will. sacrifice this
dog for yr old god
or let me run
with you. hurry,
the temples are burning.
cut my throat,
sacrifice
this dog.
run with me
out through
the smoke,
the ash of tipped
censers on yr paws.
sacrifice this dog
for yr old god.
may my blood be rivers.


X

hallelujah, rain
rain, hallelujah