Kathy and the Dogs

This one is Barton
He's sullen
Insolent
I prefer not to speak to him
He does his thing
I do mine

He walked into the backyard one day
Sat down and never got up
I bring his food to him
He eats it
We don't talk much
I mean, he doesn't talk at all
But I don't talk to him either
And I can, keep that in mind
I could, I should say
Talk to him
But I choose not to

Barton and I have a passable relationship
In that I pass by him and he sits there
Judging me with his eyes
For how I let the other dogs rule my life
As if I should feel bad for honoring my commitments
Oh sure, I could ask him to leave
But he wouldn't
He might even laugh
If that's possible
I mean, it's probably not
But if it were
He could roll his eyes
He has, I'm sure
I've seen it
Several times, in fact
But yeah, I can't ask him to leave

What good would it do?

And it would upset Belle
She's in love with Barton
I keep telling her it would never work
He's a greyhound
She's a dachshund
Imagine the children
Skinny little sullen hot dogs
With long legs
Like hot dogs on poles
Walking around like stilt walkers
And I'd be their baby-sitter

No, thank you

Belle's had crushes on all the dogs
She's a hopeless romantic
Falls in love with them all
At one time or another
I remember when she loved Steve
That was a disaster
She didn't eat for two days once
Because she caught him licking Miriam
I told her it was probably a one-time thing
All men stray after all
And considering Steve was a stray when I found him...
Then again, they all were
Anyway, she was devastated
She only got over it when Barton strolled into town
And that's why I let him stay
So Belle can keep her spirits up
I do what I can

Steve I despise
He was my brother's dog
Until my brother...
He's gone, my brother
And now Steve is mine
He's a fucker
I'm sorry to swear, but it's true
He's a dirty little fucker
I told Belle that his adultery was a fluke
But that little terrier
Will lick the ass of any piece that walks by him
Pardon my crudeness
He even licks my leg when I'm making bacon in the morning
Hoping I'll give him some
Sorry, I tell him, I'm not as easy as some of these girls
He'll lick me again and I'll say--
Stop it! I know where that tongue's been!

My brother raised him all wrong
It's not his fault he's a little terrier slut
But nonetheless

Herrectica was named by a scizo I used to work with
Who brought her to the office one day
Dropped her on my desk
And then disappeared
She's a pug
We watch game shows together
If I suggest the wrong letter on "Wheel of Fortune"
She barks
She likes to go for all the vowels
I tell her it's a waste of money
But she won't hear it
So she goes for all the vowels
And never gets the puzzle in time
I can see it in her eyes that she doesn't know it
Until it's revealed
But she'd never admit that
Still, I like that she keeps me company

Horatio Crane is named after my favorite television character
From CSI: Miami, and played by David Caruso
He's a bulldog
But he's sweet as can be
When I'm sick he lays with me
Which might not be all that healthy
Since he slobbers so much
But I can't tell him to leave
It would hurt his feelings
Sometimes I'm not really sick when I say I'm sick
But he doesn't care
He sits there anyway
And we read John Grisham together

His favorite book is "The Street Lawyer" whereas I prefer "The Brethren"

Five dogs isn't a lot when you think about it
Well, when you think about it...
Actually...
I mean, it's a lot
But not if you don't think about it
Which I don't

I just think about how the dogs make time stop

When William, my brother
When he...
It was a tumor
And it was far along
He didn't have much time
And I wanted to stop
To stop time right where it was
And just sit in that place
Where he was alive and okay
Despite the tumor
But then time kept going
And then he was gone

And I got Steve

It's a funny thing about dogs
They do the same thing everyday for the most part
They love routine
And they're happy, for the most part
Even Barton

When William...
I didn't want to be a part
Of time's progression anymore
I wanted to gel the world
And just float about in it
Imagining that William had simply moved
That he wasn't really gone

The dogs were...
Helpful with that
And they don't care about the things people do
Horatio Crane doesn't care if I get out of bed in the morning
Herrectica doesn't care if we watch "Wheel of Fortune" even though it's a repeat
Belle doesn't care about anything except whomever she has a crush on
And Barton just wants to be fed

Then there's Miriam
I don't really count her as the sixth dog
Because she sort of comes and goes as she pleases
This is going to sound silly
But she reminds me of my brother, William
Even though she's a girl
...And a black lab

Whenever I feel like I miss him the most
I look down, and she's there
It's amazing really
Or maybe not
Since I'm forever carrying the treats she likes
In my front pocket

But still
I feel my brother's kindness in her
In all the dogs, but her especially
I know I sound crazy sometimes
Talking about all this
But I think you have to go a little crazy
To lose somebody you love so much
And not jump into the abyss right after them

I used to be the woman who lost her brother
Now I'm the woman with all the dogs
I can't live with being the first
But I can gladly live with the second

I have responsibilities
I have little furry people who depend on me
I have a house filled with life
Where there used to be only silence

I have dogs
And you don't have dogs
You just wouldn't understand