Dog Math

Dog Math

My teeth are clowning in my mouth
Glinting in the sun, shine, spark
To a dog in the yard across the fence
On occasion known to leap and bark
But now just stands, legs wide apart
Confused in the swaying shadows of bamboo
Confused as a dog, head cocked and laughing
At my sparkling teeth
And now he's graphing out some long equation,
A well considered explanation
Of all that's this and all that's that
And all the while his haunches sat
Laying down in the grass
He's calm and cool, slow as molasses
Dog mathmetician in reading glasses
He's smart as my dad, but what's he after?
Grad school done so long ago?
He's out to build a craft, a charter
To fly into the sky
He wants to connect the stars to everything they stand for.
To draw white lines on slick black paper
From dot to dot and thought to thought
From right down here in his backyard spot
Beneath magnolia, redbud and pine (white dogwood blooms hustle and
He's in a backyard galaxy himself. chasp for space, in blue night, rustling
He is "Raincoat", the red collared dog star on the smooth back of the satellite dish. + at night he draws whispy moon glown lines he works for himself.
Up till all hours) from the wood slamming screen door to the gate.
From tree to tree and around the perimeter of the yard.
He's already drawing his diagram, barking at passers by and then quick,
Back to the books and maths.