poem of the day 05.15.09

man’s best friend

my wife and i see this german shepherd
outside a lot
he’s usually chained to parking meters
or bus stop poles
he has a blue chain
this german shepherd
it is made out of thick vinyl rope
we see him outside
if we are going to the grocery store
or the bar
or to get pizza
and often times the german shepherd
is still chained up
when we come back from those places
sometimes and hour has passed or more
especially if we’ve gone to the bar
my wife thinks this borders
on animal cruelty
the way some asshole keeps his dog
chained up like that
just waiting
as he does whatever along 3rd avenue
my wife wants to call the aspca
on this person
i’m usually not much for turning people in
but on the topic of the german shepherd i agree
something must be done
and i keep an eye out whenever
i see the dog chained
hoping to get just one good look
at his prick owner
so i can make a positive i.d.
and feel good about myself when the aspca come
and take the dog away
but it never seems to work out like that
i always get the dog but no owner
until today
when i passed the two of them along 75th street
there was my german shepherd chained up
and there was his owner
the stereotypical type in khaki shorts
and sandals and a t-shirt from some tropical resort
with a bad salt and pepper speckled goatee
and a baseball cap
screaming a someone on a pay phone
so i stopped and got a good look
i stood there and memorized that abusive douche bag
while he continued yelling some nonsense
and the dog stood there panting
but then the son of a bitch lunged at me
the dog not the man
stretching that blue vinyl chain as far as it would go
baring its yellow teeth at me, fangs really
like the dog wanted me dead or for dinner
so i started moving again
quickly
as the dog continued to growl and bark at me
i made it four blocks
and the animal was still going like he’d turned mad
bark bark bark bark
and i thought well that settles that
the aspca won’t be hearing from me any time soon
at least not in this lifetime
motherfucker.