Jake
Like a guard dog he stands, black coat blending,
Eyes reflecting the darkness.
He barks as if some night-world-intruder were trying to enter.
Jake, Jake, I say; I hover behind him,
What do you see that is so disturbing?
Quizzically he looks up at me,
And once more he is wondering
Why is it I am not comprehending,
That a species which works so hard
To care for him
Could be so deficient in the basic sensibilities?
And I want to explain
How my olfactory lobes are atrophic,
That all of those fundamental senses,
So proficient amongst our progenitors,
Have been swapped
For that very questionable quality
We call intelligence;
But it seems
I am unable to communicate,
That despite my alleged fluency
And the innumerable languages at my disposal,
I am still lacking
In the appropriate forms of articulation,
So necessary, so essential,
To express my oneness with him, and his universe.
So why, animal, don’t you despise us,
As we, so often, assail each other, with contumely?
We hold you in thrall.
We make you less than you ought to be.
What is there you find in us
When so much in you we cannot see?