Vagrant and a Dog

Vagrant and a Dog
By Tatiana Pahlen

A man sulked on the bench
Face down onto his hands.
An old dog with pride
Fetched him a gnawed bone,
scaring away plump sparrows,
That picked from his cart
The last stale crumbs.

The man opened his eyes,
nibbling lean cheeks
with his toothless mouth,
and reached for the dog,
losing dice,
dropped through the hole
of his pocket.

Methodically,
being content,
the dog licked his master's hand,
wagging his old sluggish body,
Abandoned a long time by a vet,
yet swayed
the great love of a vagrant.