Strays

 
 
 When I pound the streets
 Sniffing out the scent of the next poem
 I attract strays
  
 Whether it’s a dog day
 Or raining cats and dogs
 A pause is the signal
 For a stranger’s friendly paw
  
 Kindred spirits
 With no distillation
 Of direction
  
 One disposed to instinct
 One disposed to reflection
 Both accustomed to rejection
  
 Threadbare and patched
 Shabby warmth
 Chews loneliness
 Between yellow teeth
  
 Yet there’s a limit
  
 We circle round for a while
 Then reach the end
 Of my friend’s territory
  
 Where plaintive eyes 
 Watch me pad away
 To the next steps of my story