I’m no different than Oliver and Gracie I hang around the house, sometimes the backyard stick my nose, sometimes, where it belongs, sometimes not I calculate portions of food before they’re plated and naps have accelerated in length and frequency yeah, amazing how the eyelids have gained weight over the years, can hardly hold themselves up Joe and I, the alpha pair, let a lot of doggy behavior slide, the other dogs know we’re soft, lazy Alpha’s we drape, and re-drap

they share four letters you know (I’ll wait till you confirm) that brown house down the street exudes the friendliness of mud another abode’s spread of gravel looks like lifeless clumps of dirt at least that dusty Hershey’s wrapper held a few bites of chocolate delight but then I see two gardener’s brown-eyed brown-skinned labor, yielding palm tree husks on burlap that match the color of the half-filled brown plastic can I could cheat and include the beige of sand,

came upon two lizards locked on each other’s bright blue waddle, as they rolled in the sand, released, then grabbed and rolled again every springtime these dragons duel for the right to woo a girl if nothing else, human decorum has made a trail of texts and online photos a way to meet though old-fashioned, eye contact and a few kind words still works or a blind date if brave enough to go in with eyes open, in most cases, without losing blood or bruising a tail