Nostril and Eye
Do not walk with headphones on and hoods covering your heads.
- Campus Crime Advisory, Seattle University Public Safety Office
Even with my hoodie up
at risk of being mugged
or run over, vision narrowed
to the sidewalk ahead -
its original smoothness
disrupted by tree roots,
slippery now with autumn's
drifts of fallen leaves,
vision centered on the steady
forward plod of my boots,
the leather leash extended
from hand to dog, himself
a solemn plodder - we avoid
the same puddles, into which
drizzle drizzles. He savors
intensely whatever
interests dog-nostrils,
hints of - clues to - other dogs,
substances edible maybe? -
while I - eye-dominant,
eye-stimulated, eye-
ecstatic, eye-gorged,
eye-surfeited - relish
leaves all the right bright colors
of the season, shapes - all
the soft and sharp serrated
and sensuous sorts. My ears
are hooded, his pricked warily
(as far as floppy Lab ears can be).
Tree-loppers’ roaring ripping scares
us both out of our wits,
momentarily.
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