The Barking Dogs Of November.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

come November
the dogs in the house are barking

for no one, for nobody,
i look at the CCTV, there is no one
on the road, no one in the kitchen,
no one in the garage,
no one in the yard,

the house dogs are barking this
November, but no one is here
or a stranger, or a thief,
ora robber,

their sense of smell and sense of
who the bad man is,
is embedded in their tongues
and teeth
stretching far away than our
complacency

the dogs are barking and i see
no one here,
except this lonely black butterfly
fluttering in the porch
above the sunflowers, in utter silence
as we too nod our heads and
pray for the soul of our dearly departed.