Extending The Shame

Just a little bit longer.

It is an archetypal symbiosis.

The Yankees cap resting alongside

the black hijab.

On the mattress, asleep,

passion dissipated,

two naked bodies –

the sobering dawn

just a few short breaths

away.

If Your Love Is An

Infectious disease. No cure. Terminal.

Too dangerous for hospice.

Immediate quarantine.

Hazmat required.

CDC immediate response.

Kiss me now

To inoculate our love.

Simple Allegory

He slinks along the back fence,

cautious, nose constantly in the air,

just before twilight.

After three days,

I buy a big bag of kibble and a bowl,

fill it and place it by the fence.

This goes on for several months.

From the beginning, my neighbor

watches but she says nothing to me.

One day while taking out trash receptacles

down the walk to the curb,

she asks why I don’t try and catch the dog.

“Some things can’t be domesticated.”

Under her breath,

 in an offhanded manner she whispers,

“You should know.”