Babies orphaned on steps wait anxious
for the light that slips through open doors
& parcel men leave treasures on door steps
from places like Amazon
but my neighbor('s dog) left a pile of shit
to steam in the cool morning sun, as if
to say---
Good morning, I hope you have a GREAT day
and remember me with each step you take,
each time you sit in a meeting and catch an odd whiff,
sure everyone around you knows by their random sniffs,
but don't want to say anything, being polite
and all, at least until you are in the hall, or at lunch
when every bite you take taste kinda odd,
even though you washed, wiped and thoroughly
checked the treads a hundred times already
I stare at my violated shoes and understand
broken men who sit in bell towers and wait
as sweat drips periodically rechecking
cross hairs and trajectories, call my wife
to add beans to the menu for my midnight
retaliatory strike, oh and corn for color
and texture, drool slips my lip as i cackle
into my afternoon cup of coffee
This is the way wars start and soon enough
it will erupt in leaf blower ambushes and grass
clipping paintings on fences, and eternal removal
from the Christmas card list, our children
will be drafted to carry innocuous yet contaminated
food stuffs in knock knock drive by's, generations
will be born and die and all that matters is
they started it,
they started it
Arriving home I exit my car triumphant eyes only
on the perfect spot just beneath their lowest step
already testing the quick release of my belt when
I pick up the paper long forgotten, scan the political
headlines and choose---
no to follow our leaders
as through an open door, light slips, my neighbor
throws a hand in air, and because there are things
more important than petty shit,
I wave back, here in the land of the free
but not dumb.
OpenLinkNight @ dVerse Poets Pub - serving up poetic delicacies beginning at 3pm EST and hosted by the even fabulous Claudia. So go cook some verse and bring it. See you there.
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96 comments:
I shall never look at dog poop the smae way :)
hahaha at least your feet weren't bare this time
That would have been a true crime
True, shouldn't get petty over dog poo
Not the dog's, but the humans fault too
Saying no to the leaders is also quite wise
Especailly with all the crap they try and disguise
an amazing poem brian. how can you capture life so vividly in your words?
the last portion was too good.
Just a bow in admiration for this one, Brian. Felt it all too viscerally. All of it.
I used to write letters to the newspaper, now I just quietly drive over potholes. The cow poop on the road here can be like land mines, but that is one of a few things I love of my community.
Crosshairs perhaps as option 3 or 4, but loading the pile in a bag and putting it on his doorstep has worked for us.
I shall not go through that meeting with the same mindset again. Wondering are they catching a cold, allergies, or....
Nice write.
A pointed social and political commentary on today's life. Your poem smells roast beef to me even if served in a can, not smelling like dog shit at all.
*Waves at you*
See you later ~
Yep... kill 'em with kindness. I think there's much more to this than dog shit.
As always, a fantastic piece.
Brilliant, Brian. What else can I say? OMG I wish I could write like you.
You might be onto something "this is the way wars start"...I had always wondered
Awesome write, Brian :) just brilliant .
After dealing with it all day, the wave at the door changes it all. It is after all, only a dog doing what comes naturally to a dog. A responsible pet owner your neighbor is not, but you have already decided it is not worth a feud for the next generations.
One of your commenters wrote, "An amazing poem Brian." I read it this way, "An amazing poem Brain."
So, you do have an amazing poem brain.
And this is an amazing poem, Brian.
;)
It's all in how we choose to view and react to our world around us and the actions we feel are taken against us. Our choice is a powerful player in how our attitude and day turns out. I know every day can't be flowers and sunshine but we can choose to have a good attitude through all the crap (most of the time). :)
I stopped reading newspapers or watching TV news for almost two years.
ordinary lives constitute extraordinary enjoyment, which I enjoy so much.
Media headlines highlight occasions that are either tragic or political, cannot waste too much time mourning a dead fly in my kitchen table.
powerful emotions, bless your day.
do what's important to yourself,
and have lots of fun.
Brian, you said this with great humor but I know, oh how I know, how maddening a rude neighbor can be. Still, gotta say, I like Slamdunk's idea.
Nicely written..
Loved the acidic tone at the end ;)
Ah, Brian,
You can even wax poetic about fecal matter, you dog!
GREAT humor about a common yet uncomfortable situation! :) I live next door to a pet hospital and have to constantly be on the lookout for shit. :P
Can't begin to fathom what really goes on in that quite brilliant brain of yours! Shit indeed!
Oh my, a dog poo poem. Thanks Brian, seriously, thanks. My day will be so much better now.
So, that's how it starts, how 'they' started it?
Do we all start things we are not even aware of and then are caught up in epic wars?
Or,we are caught up in epic wars because we were mad already and stepping into shit opens up a flood of emotions?
life is a land mine ;)
This reads in a humorous tone, but the undercurrent of your true message rides straight and clear. Nice work.
dude, i love this. i am so grateful to be connected to you and read you regularly. little things, or more accurately, annoying things certainly test us throughout our days. anger building is a condition we all seem to suffer from. letting it go, as you show, is how we live amongst each other. a repetitive injustice like a dog shitting on my lawn would send me f*cking berserk:)
I'm still thinking about the dog mess I stepped in and tracked to the office. Great poem, Brian.
Glad my closest neighbors are pretty far away.
But I get your poem. So cleverly stated - may peace reign among us.
Yes, the last time this disaster struck my Mom and I both got it on the sidewalk at the hospital where I'd taken her for surgery. I got lots of odd looks in the bathroom and no one could figure out why I was wearing only one shoe and scrubing two. Too funny, great storytelling.
ok, thanks for the whiff! do people really do that? glad you liked the "sunny shirt"!
so this is the proof...most wars start because of shit on someone's doorsteps...glad you waved back...and maybe you could offer one of these eyes to our politicians...so they may see..
only YOU can convert Dog Poo into a poem! :O
Brian I do not whether to comment "you really spin a yarn" or that "you are really spun by a yarn."
Either way, you do it with elan!
You sure can tell a whole story in one small poem! It's not so bad when the dog comes over once and poops in your yard; it's when he decides to use your yard as his toilet when things start to get bad. I'll never forget a sign I saw once: Here he lies all stiff and hard; the last damn dog to poop in my yard!
I am a dog lover, btw!
The master story-teller strikes again.
"I stare at my violated shoes and understand
broken men who sit in bell towers and wait
as sweat drips periodically rechecking
cross hairs and trajectories,"
Definitely my favorite part. Pretty brilliant, I must say :)
Brian, love the poem. Excellent message and love the alternating style used within- really good work
so what should we do? stepping on poo, another of those smelly realities...
Brian, this is a rant that you needed to get off your chest. How you go on about the scent, I was laughing out loud, and of course, the corn in always a nice touch.
Saying no to leaders always comes to my mind when dealing with dog poop, too. This is brilliant! Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/portrait-of-great-grandpa-and-mom/
hahahaha!! Brian you've got me falling out of my chair!!!! I'll be watching the bell towers a little more closely now I guess! Seriously though, I know a guy who knows a guy, we can take care of this problem if you don't mind a messy solution... Click Here To Solve Your Problem!
Having (by law) to pick up after my dog in the UK it was habit to do it here in Canada too. Now they provide poop bags for us in public places. Nothing worse than stepping in it!
I would be inclined to pick it up in a bag and put it on their own door step.
Nice gritty life observations set to prose again though Brian. Amazing where and what inspires us!
Take the high road, Poet! No matter what might be sticking to that shoe and weighing you down. My god, I laughed...and then, the nerve of you, twisting it all around to a politically charged commentary on the current state of the world. Corn!? Can you imagine! You know I need an eraser for my brain after your vivid imagery...I humbly bow to the master!
Brian, I loved this. I have two little dogs whose few days of 'poop' I can pick up in one baggy; but it has happened that I have taken a misstep! Thankfully, if I have on Crocs, it is easy to remove...but with some other shoes, not so easy. Anyway, thankfully I don't have a German shepherd. Good that you waved at your neighbor. Sometimes you just have to forgive and forget the shit in this world!
amazing how you blend humor and real talk together perfectly, Brian... also made me think of the time I stepped in dog shit and didn't realize it until hours later... ew.
This really is how wars are started. When my children's father was growing up there was a German family lived next door (they were Hungarian). Nobody knew how it started but one day there was a banana peel on one guy's front lawn. In anger he threw it on the other guys front lawn. They went back and forth like this for MONTHS, the wives completely embarrassed and the two sons absolute best friends, but the fathers ready to kill - over a banana peel...
All I can say is that it all piles up, year after year, looking the other way, and then with one last whiff, sometimes, one snaps. Fine job of examining the small things that start feuds, the small feuds that start fights, the small fights that start wars and the resulting way it envelops a wider and wider (to world-wide) area. Your voice always so uniquely your own.
I love the line brave, but not dumb.
Good write
Delightful commentary on the eye-for-an-eye mentality...only in this case, a turd for a turd.
love the ending after the revenge buildup!
... And so another day in sub-turd-ia comes to a close. I know it well ... Brendan
I've never retaliated in quite that way!
Holy CRAP, this one made me laugh, squirm, nod and grin from ear to ear. You couldn't have said it better.
We do look past an awful lot of provocation. Maybe for most of us the planning of revenge is where the fun is. At some point though, we recognize that we have probably provoked someone equally.
An enjoyable excursion into the modern psyche....
Love, love, love this. First of all, an experience most of us have probably had...trying to get the poop out of the treads of our shoes. But especially the layers of meaning you brought to the subject. Loved the revenge you planned and glad you didn't take it. Maybe one step closer to peace in the world? I had to think this was written from experience.
Good one! Keep rising above it all.
Brilliant. Email this to congress.
Only you could draw a parallel between the one sort of shit and the other, with plenty of humor even, and still actually make a rather profound point. I was laughin so hard in the middle I swear my sides still hurt. But the end, not so funny, just good.
This freaking rocks, Brian! Love it!
I couldn't say it better than Hedgwitch or anyone here...brilliant and so right!!!
Give them a pooper-scooper kit for Christmas and dog treat for the pooch. ;)
how can you put so much theory in dog crap is beyond comprehension, amazing write
Brian, dog poo may not be a problem. Many on leash had trained their owners to scoop up the trail as they walk. The strays are the ones giving them a bad name.Great verse!
Hank
Now, now. A little poop is no reason to be fantasizing about bell towers. :-)
Good idea.
And watch the parking meters... subterraneously speaking of course...
:)
xo
call my wife to add beans to the menu for my midnight retaliatory strike, oh and corn for color
and texture, drool slips my lip as i cackle into my afternoon cup of coffee
...oh how I love humor! You've got me Brian cackling into my late evening glass of wine... laughed right out loud... oh, yes I did =D
Whew! So glad it didn't escalate!
"There is no way to peace == Peace is the way."
Your spirit could really teach Washington a thing or two...oh, wait, you said, "not dumb"...never mind. Another fabulous sociopolitical write ~
Gandhi said an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind. I guess poop for poop would make the whole world stinkfooted.
Unfortunately we seem to be in an era in which most people have forgotten that revenge produces new cycles of mutual retaliation in a repeating pattern that is unproductive, at best. So much gleeful vengeance in current movies, for example. I think your protagonist chose a wiser course. Thanks for this one.
How do you make an unwanted dump from an annoying neighbor's dog sound so epic???!!! Awesome as always!!!
PS...Interesting Title. The. End.
Brilliant and clever, this. Just a wave, and a smile... and you have prevented a war. :)
ha - way to take the high road. I think we can have the thoughts but it is the actions that define who we are.
I'm glad you were able to take the high road, Brian.
Love the way you travel from the small shit of a dog to the big shit of the politician. I loved this poem, Brian! Write on!
Amazing poem. True there are more important things in life than petty shit. It's just sometimes the shit ain't so p(r)etty;)
You are my brother..we as a nation feel obligated to carry the "shit" doled upon us from the "dogs" on the perch.. I say, hell no!!
This poem is right up my alley..and will be a great open mic poem..
ps-steer clear of those unknown piles
LOL this one had me laughing I love it and you are so right about everything
Dear Brian, ave you ever heard that story about a bird all crapped on and the cat?;))
This great piece of yours reminded me off it.;)
Have a good midweek dear friend.;)
xoxo
ROTF~~~ This is one of the very best poems I've read IN A LONG TIME!!!!'
I LOVE your extended commentary, Brian. This made my day!
Lady Nyo
Hi Brian :-)
As usual, some really great wordplay, and a sound message woven through the story. You have a real knack for capturing slices of veryday life.
Hi Brian, I love the sarcasm in this poem. Especially the verse "this is how wars start" is so perfect - probably the least sarcastic verse in all the poem and the axis of the poem. I pray for less piles of dog waste in front of our doors.
How that beginning led to that end I will never know but always cherish, you are a master weaver my friend! ~ Rose
the funny thing is, the dog probably WAS marking his territory... and yet dog packs have very sophisticated rules for avoiding mass destruction... i'm glad you decided to wave hello instead of the alternative ;)
like the way you started out with the various list of "parcels" and then brought it back around to the paper delivery at the end.
ROTFL a stinky situation! This is good.
A masterful story-poem with deep underpinnings. I love that first couplet!
Oh, my goodness. Yes, you are brilliant.
Brian another poem so well done and such a pleasure to read. I love your closing lines and sit here laughing about dog poo and how you expressed this. I think that when I have to clean up from my two dog I can not regard dog poo in the same way as before thanks for sharing
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/27/addiction-to-solitaire/#comment-1224
oh wow, I love this, you made me laugh out loud, seriously. but underneath it all, i love the message... you took the higher road, and that will make all the difference.
I love your style, this is brilliant. Dog Poop! I mean...how dog poop changed the world! I love the way you look at the world.
amazing ... you have this beautiful ability to paint a vivid picture of different aspects of life ... kudos
Did he actually write about dog shit? Am I actually going to read a poem about dog shit? Yep, every last word. I feel like I need a bath.
So much said so well. I love the way your thoughts drift this way and that, Brian!
As usual Brian, inspiring and intelligent. Loved it! James.
Hmm, I like this a lot. Darn neighbors. You're right, wars start easily enough. I should know. I take those calls all day long!
You captured the essence of neighborliness, Brian. The give and take, the conscious amnesia sometimes necessary to make living side by side with another work. But I recall a certain poet saying something about fences...
Brilliant work.
This took me down, down, down, but then left me so proud seeing you “wave back, here in the land of the free but not dumb.” Great title, too!
we have all been in this situation mate, you covered it well, lol loved the second paragraph ;)
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