She-boss and Big-man think they in charge
so Jake don’t have crunch-taste when he want. No.
She-boss and Big-man put out crunch-taste
on cold-tongue and say: Sit! Good boy! Good dog, Jake.
Jake watch green stuff through fake-space in go-through.
Jake keep bark-watch. No smell through fake-space.
Jake watch for wing-flaps, and sly-claws who roof-walk.
Jake not roof-walk, Jake not daft, Jake stay low on hard-stuff.
Crunch-taste is good time but walk time is best time.
Jake in charge. Walk time is not just walk time.
Walk time is walk, smell, bark, run, piss, bark, shit, bark.
She-boss and Big-man shout: Jake! Jake! Jake! Jake!
Cliff Yates
Illustration Nick Victor
[…] yesterday, I had another poem from Jam published online in International Times, ‘Dog-speak’. Jake is really Pi, a Jack Russell that lives over the road. Pi’s great. One of my heroes. […]
Pingback by Jam, Bargain Booze and Pi | Cliff Yates on 11 March, 2016 at 10:30 am