Beware Of

The puppy was a foundling and they didn’t know his mix, his
Lineage, till he got older and began to show himself
Then they saw he was a guard dog with a scary mouth and sharp bark and defiant stance
Fiercely protective of the place, his turf, the man and the woman
No one could pass without his say-so

And then one day he bit someone entering, someone who came too quickly through
the gate
Failing to show the dog the respect he demanded, and
The man and the woman were surprised because the dog had never done this before but
They should not have been surprised, not
With a dog whose ever cell says: guard, it was only a matter of time
So they put up a sign: BEWARE OF THE DOG as a warning

After a while, the man and the dog left and the woman remained, alone,
Though in truth she had always been alone, and now
It was her turf to protect, though in truth it had always been her turf
The man did not know this and the dog could not know it, not this dog

The sign: BEWARE OF THE DOG remained posted on the gate,
Lit by a bleak winter sun, strafed by wind and rain, till one day, arriving
home after errands
The woman, in a fit of pique that cleared the way to cross over, wrenched the
gummy silver tape and
Tore down the sign

There is no warning now
Only an understanding:
BEWARE OF THE WOMAN — SHE BITES

Copyright 2018 Carol Rosenblum Perry

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