FENTON DIES
fenton disappears with a squeak & a hop
into his own small darkness/ whimsical
australian terrier/ the poisons working
slowly through his intestines/ whilst he
is studying the loungeroom & all our
activities from bewildered brown eyes/
now staring into earth covered by a cloth/
i must think of beauty/ say the purple
star flowers with their galaxies of blooms
amongst the green plum puddings in royal
park/ but the purple tongue of fenton
hangs between his teeth bloated with
snail bait & dead blood/ the only part of
him that looked dead/ until he became
deader after much looking from us/ (i am
sorry that your dog died/ & that you had
to take him to your bed/ & for a second
when you woke from shocked sleep/ you saw
the tan fur at your feet/ & you knew that
your dog was dead for the second time)/
i do not want to eat anymore when fenton
cannot eat/ the new neighbours chopped
down the gum tree/ the native birds flew
away/ they planted the roses & sprinkled
the snail bait/ brown shells collided in
tiny agonies/ & this is what is left/
fenton buried in the backyard/ poison
preserving his liver/ & the shovel which
trevor borrowed pushed into the earth/ &
a sterile yuppie garden with a cloak rack
in the hallway & painted wood | 
