Husky
Aloof until she’s not.
Too poised for bounding.
Precision spring and
Purposed shuffle,
She’s on your knee.
You feel her heartbeat
(Or your own popliteal pulse?)
No matter:
Your leg will be dead soon,
A garden for her to lie down in,
Like Brimo and Pan before her,
Their ashes in potted firs,
Everyone growing still.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Ewen Glass is an emerging voice in poetry, in both English and Ulster-Scots registers.