Two retreivers zig zag in the dark tails wagging for scented cotton tail woodchuck unwary rodentia transitory coyote even adaptable deer I lag in the wild grass past the corner pole awkwardly illuminating standing rainwater on a side street of vacant lots not too far removed from the latest attempts of urban renaissance & suburban sanctimony. Unlike the curious canines, immune to survivor's guilt, I'm leaving another voice mail a mumbled mantra to an old consort once a vivacious compatriot a mythical muse now withering into cosmic debris unable to speak shimmy or savor no serum no savior. If only she could pick up for some ghostly laughter at off-color jokes best shared offline instead of feebly reassuring her in the managed care of disheartening doubt the yelps of recognition the echoing horn blare from faraway freighters on better nights. My near-death inexperience trails off into the rustling solace of overgrown boundaries the oncology of self-reproach the lost pearl necklace of imagination & what could never be.
Love this Bill! ❤️