If I had a dog
I would name him
King Arfer
and make him wear a crown;
I would call his yard
the dogdom;

I would declare
all the stray cats
in our neighborhood
his vassals,
and bring one home
now and then
for King Arfer to
dominate;

but I don’t have a dog
because ever since
that first boy
befriended that first wolf
it’s been a downhill slide
for dogs, it is pitiful
to see them grovel
and whine,
or be carried around
or when they get fat,
or bark
incessantly
because they don’t understand
their captivity;

if I had a dog,
he would ride with me,
sitting alert on the front seat
watching everything
as the landscape
whirled by, and
when I left him alone,
he would be content,
curl up, and wait
for our next encounter.
If I had a dog
I would name him King Arfer.

– Larry Berger. HashtagWV #106. October 2018.