Song for Kevin Arnovitz

from BotF Poetry Slam, 2-17-2006

Rottweiler puppies
large bumbling clumsy
fierce cute
try out needle sharp teeth
on the table legs
on each other

Persian cats
regal in flowing coats
of tabby and smoke
try out razor sharp claws
on the upholstery
on each other

puppies get hookworms
leaving bloody diarrhea
on the Bokharas

cats get hairballs
vomiting them up
into your shoes

small but inconvenient
facts of life
bearable because

the puppies
will grow into
imposing companions loyal guardians
in gleaming armor of black and tan
and ivory teeth

the cats
will grow old
purring contentedly into your dreams
napping in your lap in the recliner
by the fire

except for those misfits
who rip the faces
off small children
or whose faces
are too pushed in
to permit proper breathing

the caretaker
the one who wears the red and white S
must be
the Job who splits babies
the Solomon who suffers boils

kevinarno
will be
turning over the keys
to the Houses of Persia and Rottweil
moving out moving on
to observe and chronicle another nature
red in tooth and claw
surely a more civilized pursuit