Barry Vitcov

Poodle Walks

Every day I take the same walk

Along the same sidewalks

Smudged by deer and dog shit

Up the same hill

To a nearby neighborhood

Where the average age increases

In proportion to the slope of the hill climbed

I’m with my poodles

Black on the left; white on the right

The white with a month’s life left

We trudge along and I hope

For no distractions causing the dogs

To get out of sync

Their paws and my feet in a pleasant melody

Of course the old people point and smile

The routine is expected

When I ask do you want to go for a walk

Enthusiasm is high; harnesses and leashes welcomed

Poodles never seem to notice

The changes I observe

Empty houses where seniors once lived

Or their own mortality

 

Sort of…

When fall approached 

and fire season had passed

a swallowtail butterfly

lingered outside your window

gorging on nectar

It’s an in-between season

sort of… like Horowitz playing Scarlatti

changing tempo

with precision and surprise

the temptation of our  musical lives

Sort of… like the look

from your far and empty eyes

as the swallowtail

display’s its wing’s… web-like designs

that tattoo artists try to copy and refine 

The solitude of that moment

belies the reality

of the streets

sort of… a protection

sort of… an envelop

empty and addressed

sort of… like the grief

that has numbed us… from

sort of…

 

Regular Maintenance

We ought to have regular maintenance

not just blood tests, a cold stethoscope 

and a general look-see

My car is on a maintenance schedule

predictable oil changes, filters, belts

lots of stuff I don’t understand

In simpler days when dad and I

untangled timing light and dwell meter cords

got out the socket set

purchased plugs and points 

spent Sundays tuning up

the Dodge, Ford or Plymouth

When I came of age

and assigned the task of inching

under the car on my back

unscrewing the oil drain plug

forever, it seemed, 

gunking up my hand 

till dipping my fingers

into sand-like hand cleaner

then washing with Lava soap

leaving my skin raw and happy

my introduction into manly behavior

which modern electronics took away

Shouldn’t we all have regular maintenance

get our oils changed once-in-a-while

get our timing right

get buffed and polished

get loose nuts and bolts tightened

dip our souls into something gritty

and unrefined