A italian greyhound

By DS Maolalai

--

what's that – that a italian

greyhound? he was bent

down already

giving margot a scratch

on her chin. a whippet

I told him. just small

for her size – immediately

felt like an idiot. a whippet

he said not even noticing. she'd come

right up to him. my dog has an instinct

for people which I've never shared.

it would be much easier

saying yes to whatever they ask me.

who really cares what a dog is?

---

Author Bio:

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as "a cosmopolitan poet" and another as "prolific, bordering on incontinent". His work has been nominated fourteen times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and released in three collections; "Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden" (Encircle Press, 2016), "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019) and “Noble Rot” (Turas Press, 2022)