Member-only story
So Cute, So Mean
Those eyes, it is in those eyes
An eight pound ball
of shaggy cotton, red collar
with silver hearts, soft black
eyes made for begging cookies
from strangers, more snow ball
than dog.
She was at the end of a long,
red leash, the owner face down
on her phone near the street,
the dog finding me sitting
on a bench waiting for my
take out order.
I’ve owned dogs for years.
Every pocket in every jacket
has dog cookies and poop bags
left over from daily walkies
with my tribe of Boston Terriers.
I come out with three cookies.
She sits, paw up, and her nails
are painted red to match her collar.
Beg and nibble, beg and nibble,
beg and nibble, and the cookies
are gone, and she sits and stares,
just waiting, wanting more.
I reach to pet her, now without
a treat, and she nips me giving
me the low growl of disapproval…
then I remember where I have seen
those eyes before, the same
blank stare as my ex-wife, so soft
but if I came home without a treat,
the same snarl, the same nip…
so cute, but so mean if she
didn’t get what she wanted.
