Keaau Beach, Hawaii
I never really recovered from the dog pee in the eye incident. The problem went away,
though. The male dogs screwed little White Fang until she got sick and
died. I was doing business in Honolulu at the time, and when I returned to the beach,
Danny broke the news to me. He told me the ground was too hard to bury
her, so they threw her body into the dumpster. I needed a bit more
closure than that, and I got it by writing her this little eulogy:
White Fang
A stray dog; a hungry dog; a thief.
Provoked anger, mingled with supplication,
culminating in compassion;
a food cash now divided among two species.
Time passed, and a
new home proved expedient.
The dog followed.
Picnic extravagance was much appreciated.
Days of resolute effort turned into
days of tumble and roll.
White Fang had found friends:
Keoki, Mo, Yesika, Primo, Jack, and Short Tail.
The setting sun signaled the end of play
and the beginning of White Fang's vigil.
Witnessed by the light of the moon
two heads lay upon the same pillow.
The divine disclosure of ripe fertility turned
White Fang into the most popular dog in the park.
Pursuit embodied activity
interruption defined routine
excited dogs fighting among themselves
Chaos defined the night.
Evanescent organism
left more than memories.
Two weeks of flight
ended in unnatural quietude.
Exhaustion turned to sickness
leaving a drained and limp body.
Convulsions ushered in death.
Delivered into the garbage can
emotion was rendered neutral.
After two days of rotting dog
empathy lapsed into repulsion.
The garage man was applauded.
White Fang was forgotten.
No comments:
Post a Comment