Cinnamon Dog

Cinnamon dog’s got spring fever, Leaps to the forbidden table top, Stands like a statue with something green in her mouth, As if, if she’s a statue we can’t stop her or even see her … Cinnamon dog rumbles the closets for forbidden shoes, Snatches the last intact rubber glove from the dishrack beside the sink, Snaps up green bean bits from the cutting board, Rips and weaves up and down the long, narrow hall, Threads her ever-longer nose, legs and tail in and out, above and below The shuddering chairs, the quaking couch, the overturned beds. She wags and wags her head, pretending to break the neck Of a green mouthful. Dropping everything, we rush her out the door, into the car, Down to the pebbly shore of the Potomac, To dog paradise with a Woodrow Wilson Bridge view where All the fevered, demented dogs go, Where she lunges at them, throws herself into the rapid water, Gingerly licking the wave tops, Humbly competing for floating sticks and a poor lifeless ball In a snarl of other dogs of all sizes, ages, tempers. Dogs are bathing. Dogs are drying. Dogs stop, start, stand up, lie down, roll and roll over. Dogs shake, shudder and startle, obey and disobey. They lurk and lunge. They bark, wobble, nuzzle, nip. Tend to and tear into each other. Growl, threaten, disengage, engage And are forcibly untangled from eachother, upside down or bottoms up. Hysterical dogs escape to the trees, delirious dogs break for the chase. Dogs advance and retreat, lather and yelp, shiver, snivel, pant -- Shake their coats and soak us in chilly river spray. The Potomac hums and whistles and gleams. Irrelevant rush-hour rail and road vehicles emit their dim rumbles. After the blaze of sunset, after the streaky skies go dark, As the air cools and the mob of us disperses, Cinnamon dog settles and sighs into the back seat of the car. Her milk-and-honey muzzle settles onto her speckled front paw, Her eyes close, her neon cinnamon lashes flutter. She whimpers in her damp, cinnamon sleep, Deep in sweet dreams of dinner and blood sports.