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Embracing, we didn’t
form an arch
and admit countless joys,
nor did we convene
like scallop’s valves
around a shared, pink life.
A gentle beast simply
approached us and rolled over
to lay bare its belly and throat.
This trust called for walks in wide parks
and hand-feeding in restaurants
before we shared our bed;
this creature, needing two for warmth,
stayed with us
and never growled or snapped.
At a season’s end,
it left on quiet pads,
for its own animal reasons,
and we stood by ourselves,
sharing an absence,
and no more.
J.D. Smith's publications include the collection, The Hypothetical Landscape (Quarterly Review of Literature Poetry Series), and the edited anthology, Northern Music: Poems About and Inspired by Glenn Gould (John Gordon Burke, Publisher). His work has twice been nominated for Pushcart Awards, and his prose has appeared in Chelsea, Connecticut Review, Exquisite Corpse, Literal Latte, and Pleiades. His play "Dig" was produced by Chicago's Squaresville Theatre in 2003. He is currently seeking a publisher for his second collection, Settling for Beauty.
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