American

A PRAYER FOR MY DOG

I wish the strongest ghost were here
to guard my Brooklyn baby
from whatever things are
until it’s all just easier thoughts
like breakfast. Make sure
my bodyguard guardian angel’s packing.
I don’t want to have to mourn on the internet.
If I were in the post-apocalypse,

I’d do a lot of worrying.
What else? I’d plant a tree.
I’d change my name to Merlin,
hunt wild game in an abandoned Target,
then die of something lame
like dehydration or death.
Everything’s an everyday thing
every day. Your favourite weapon

is also the katana. I don’t think
people want to see
a movie about my life,
but maybe a poem,
if that’s something you can look at
with whichever eyes look in language.
I missed my dog, so I wrote her.
Dear Laura Dern,

Dear deer in the way in the snow,
when I’m travelling through the dark
like a proper samurai, because of you
I don’t wear loud shoes anymore.
When dogs die I feel old.
People expect you to set an example.
Some people light roses on fire
in Photoshop. I don’t know any trees I want to be.