PISSING IN THE SAME SPOT OVER AND OVER LIKE A DOG WITH ALZHEIMER’S - Alx Johns

"PISSING IN THE SAME SPOT OVER AND OVER LIKE A DOG WITH ALZHEIMER’S"

Alx Johns

There’s more territory out there, don’t you know?

You, person who might have been you.

You used to want to roam

so far so bad you’d strangle yourself

on the leash to get to nothing but the need

to get to somewhere else, poor dog

or whatever you are.

Here you are forgetting where you just were

or where you want to be,

so present in the moment of relief.

 

 

What you’ve got left: your

 

 

ability to slowly eat, see

the liquid through your body, pee, recognize

shape and scene

though not what they mean

or connect you to, you

 

 

close-to-blind canine Buddha being

setting down your leg,

your tail already in a coma,

your nose playing tricks on you.

You are born again again.

 

"PISSING IN THE SAME SPOT OVER AND OVER LIKE A DOG WITH ALZHEIMER’S" is from Alx's new collection of poems DARWIN'S BOOK OF SAINTS, which is available for pre-order from Aurore Press in Cincinnati and will be published this month. "If you think you don’t like poetry, I bet you’ll like this poetry. If you do like poetry, you’ll need this book to carry on." — Matt Hart