off the pool

i have brought my dog
to a neighbor's pool
at night, when the light
moves on the water,
as a shimmering
set of swords drawn quick
from their sheaths,
producing that sound
that lisp of metals
you know which sound
im talking about, don't you?
that single whisper of ears
falling from
the faces of men
on bent, wounded horses,
that song
of millions of years
moving beneath
the water like a dragon
like an accordion
like a deck of cards
and here, here
is the connection, if you
are getting impatient:
as i rake my hands
across his warm
breathing body,
through his fur
and come
across scalped
grapes and growths
i come across his cancer
and in battle tomorrow i will
think of him, and hope
the mannequins i stood
in the dark house
before his cage
are frozen fending off loneliness
and mortality.