Olalla Creek

and what shall we call this new environment?

what indeed, you say

I shall express to you exactly, precisely, and most significantly the nominal considerations

i shall do this

i shall do

i shall

i bent a little too far

i will stir these mushy peas, these black-eyed peas.

i will extract from them their hot soupy liquor that I put out of mind for a while

twin pillars of candlelight burn steady above increasingly stubby white tapers.

a cat meows and she sighs, then swigs water and walks away.

meow, clunk, shhuff of a chair being pushed in under a table.

the cat sticks out its tongue

off with the light

now just the candlelight and the light of the computer screen

dog breathing in slumber – then he gets up suddenly and drinks thirstily, lapping up his water in a four-count.   then he knocks on the door, wanting to go out into the moonlight, into the snow.   he is persistent, his tail wagging as he accustomed to his master doing his bidding.    a lower growl now, expectantly, with more consistency.

he thinks about it

he thinks

he is hungry, as always.