BLOATED DOG
on the verandah a bloated dog/
a dying dog swollen
to death/ on the doorstep/ balanced on its side/
rolling off the deep end/ in the early light of
morning/
i popped the pamphlet in the letterbox/ a
recycled message/ for a free world/ for animal
rights/ for the third world/
i thought/ if only we
could change our lifestyles & consume less/
in the
garden/ succulent plants/ fat & moist/ so sharp so
close to the dog/
one cactus prick/ spiking the dead
dog's ear/ to the bristle doormat/
on entering the
frontyard/ i notice the affluence of the house/ that
an affluent society built/ built me to where i am/
i am succulent/ my cheeks begin to fill with blood/
it turns to strawberry jam/
i stumble/ puffing up/
i almost tread in the bloated dog/ its glassy eye
looking beyond its grief/
its body forsaken/
reeking/ i knock on the door with rounded fists/ my
forearms will burst/ my eardrums throbbing with dark
sugar & cream/
the door opens/ the owner of the dog
has swollen cheeks/ & everyone lying inside in their
beds will be bloated/
i flee from that yard/ back
down the affluent path to sanity/ taking my ethical
pamphlets with me/
then i saw a young man walking/
he turned to where the smell was coming from/ to the
neat brick house half closed from night/
gardenia,
rose & jasmine gone wild/ corrupt & sweet/ half
consuming the house in the morning light/
the young
man saw the bloated dog/ he went to tell the others
of its death/
went to hell of his own accord i
thought/ he had legs like licorice sticks/
upon
seeing the dog his ankles began to blister & swell/
as though he had been injected with sugar syrup/
making him bothered & irritable/
i hid behind the
huge fig next door/ not thinking i had the strength
to help him/
having now abandoned the recycled
pamphlets/ i noticed the sweetness of the scent
affecting him/
sending him dumb with rage & passion/
he felt an urge to rush into jasmine/
i felt the
need to rush with him/ both of us giggling/ & him
retching & gurgling/
like toddlers sucking the
pollen from flowers/ then cramming the stamen into
our mouths/
& down the back of our throats/ until
we choked & fell backwards/
towards the dog/
toppling the letterbox/ into the hedge/ sweet
bloated & dead |
