Mangy Dog

Mangy dog humping the earth,
his black-red eyes follow me like sword to heart.

At first he was just -– a dog,
but then he said my name, over and over
one hundred thousand times at once,
the force of his knowing like a thunder-
bolt in the belly.

How many nights must he hunt me,
nose raised to entrap my essence,
so that sweat fouls the sweetness
and all my fetid carcasses are undug
from the soil of my soul.

No muzzle or chain can contain him.
He is far too wild for training.

Mangy dog, humping the ground,
his shadow stands guard at the edge
where both known and unknown fall
before his rapacious maw.