In your absence the dog
has elected to sit outside

moping on the deck
in the late morning cool.

In the forest, a constant
call and response, and she,

though pampered, still animal,
more attuned to the language

of birds.  I read a book on it,
am now trying to tell a cry

from the canopy from a sigh
from the floor. Or a whine

from the door–
she doesn’t want in,

she wants me out–
there was a chapter

cautioning against
anthropomorphizing

but creature comfort
is a very good term,

relatable, in that she
wants and wants

and what she wants
does not fit into words.