A Lost Battle

A poem written in 2013

I am a dog
Who licks a wounded paw
Until the hair pulls away from the skin
Hot spots on the underbelly

I look you up when I shouldn’t 
Imagine and infer about your Today life
While pretending to be Yesterday me 
And ignore the Now now

I am defective
Forgetful to the ache of a bruised fist
And the hiss of red words 
Whispered over the sound of car horns

You are still a batch of chigger bites, 
Have feasted on the scales of my skin
So when we meet again
I’d like to have those back