I walk the dog, leading her
through a dainty dance of steps
around that tree, sniff that leaf
deposit an odiferous offering to the morning
elsewhere a woodpecker rat-a-tat-tats
a sapling upturns fresh wounds to the sky
soaking up falling rain, stumps fresh
with chainsaw burns
we finish our circuit, both wet and refreshed
and empty of our troubles
my pup and I, we rejoin
the quiet dark of the apartment
a simple man 