..dog

The woman sways side to side
coddling the small warmth
that is wrapped in a blanket
and comforted by the love of her arms.
And she caresses and kisses and worries
about the state of the fragile receptor of her concern.
Today the New York Times made rape
a war crime.
Today raping a toddling child or a bent body became wrong.

The woman with the warmth and the concern
may(not) know this.
But in her moment, African rape is far from her.
Her heart and tears are for an easier love,
an animal that requires little of her humanity and anguish.
So she rocks her love with a breaking heart,
offering unrequited humanity to her pup.

And a raped African toddler pulls the humidity of the plain
close to her small body,
longing for the unrealized luxury of a small blanket
and tightening arms.

(Maybe) the rocking woman does(not) read the Times
or maybe her Blackberry does(not) have allowance
for another human or space for more than
feeding, watering, and walking.
(Maybe) youthful rape is too human,
far more broken of a life than her small love in the blanket
and (maybe) the papers and emails and voice-mails
demand more than the schedule will grant.


Working with my internship yesterday I discovered that dog owner are the most persistent political advocates in Seattle. At first I laughed but I don't really know what to think about this. I may(not) own a dog when I grow up. Certainly not it is an excuse to love.