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THE DOG WAS MINE
Lorraine Henrie Lins
My first dog wasn’t mine
but for a week; a baby Shepard
in wolf-grey fur and pink foot pads
who’d followed me in from the snow one day—
he waited on the stoop for as long
as it took me to steal him some bread-heels
and a handful of the Milkbones we kept
in the tall red box under the sink.
No. I couldn’t have him. No, I didn’t know
where he’d come from. No, he wasn’t friendly.
No, he could bite. No, that’s just how dogs are.
No, he’ll just get attached. No, we already
have a dog. No. We had our dog first. No.
My sister’s boyfriend took him to a farm
where there was a grassy hill in a big, wide
yard with a white, white fence and a warm
kitchen floor with a rug and a fireplace
and a clean, white bowl of fresh water,
two cats named something catchy
and a boy who would love him forever.
Author Bio: Lorraine Henrie Lins serves as the Director of New and Emerging Poets with Tekpoet and is a founding member of the “No River Twice” poetry performance troupe. She is the author of five books of poetry, including the forthcoming Without the Water. Lins’ work appears in a wide variety of familiar publications and collections, as well as a small graffiti poster in New Zealand. For more information, please visit: www.LorraineHenrieLins.com