said the dog

The world is so huge it must be real
said the dog. The moist smell
beneath my paws is knowledge.

Let me out, let me out, it said.
I know naught of love.
You give me chains. I am chained in your life.

The moon is crisp, said the dog, or puckered like an anus.
Luminous, compact, signifying many things,
always fleeing farther down the alley
is the moon I want, said the dog.

shining one

My teeth are part of my face
My teeth are somewhere in my personality
Teeth go into the earth when you die
There are tumors containing teeth excised from the body
I’m not sure how it happened
I opened my mouth and a tooth fell out
Actually it was my voice saying a word I had not heard before
The bear revolved around its tooth
The dog constellation spun on its white tooth star

Ivy Wang is a civil rights lawyer living in New Orleans and Montgomery.