For months
the hot canopy screamed
A sonar pinged
but at what
We had stopped
talking to each other
The storm door
slammed
You flew right
at me, dumb
graceless I forgot
to flinch
I pulled You out
from my hair
Bronze wings
five red eyes
Expect Damn All
You said
Expect You
I said
I didn’t
My dogs ate You
My dogs, who are also You
Copyright © 2026 by Rebecca Gayle Howell. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 31, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.
