We Keep the Dog

James AL Midgley


He's a big grub-digging machine,
leash on the miles of open space.
We keep him for the trees
he raises from night, the wood's midwife.

We like the supple rubber of his eyes
rolled up in pleading. And what a dustbin
and what a terrier of dustbins!

We keep the dog for the dripping ivy -
or lead him through corridors of flowers:
a spray of purple sage across the snout,

colour-succulent slipper orchids,
and him covered in field muck.
We like the contrast

of his dark plushness on our white carpets.
We leave him in the garden
awake and snuffling, go indoors

to rest, the sofa sprung
with rosecurls and needle sprigs,
this dream of running in our sleep.

James AL Midgley



Noted On the Gazebo | Alsop Review