Dog Days

There’s a lot going on in the world
today. My TV stays off
for morning’s sake.

Another plane. Child. Innocent.
Betrayal. And that flag hanging
over it all.

I almost feel guilty when sorrow engulfs me.
How does an old paw print
eclipse any of that?

But my sphere spins slowly, the breeze
carries ghosts, familiar barks—
a smell of wet coats.

Ryan Stone