Vagrant and a Dog by Tatiana Pahlen

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,
thereby losing dice,
that 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 ago by a vet,
yet swaying with
the great love of a vagrant.