BABY WIPE

he will not
greet me at the
door, my blasé dog, who
gets mad if I come home too
early, upset I’ve encroached on his
nap but – he lies in wait, in
ambush – when I step
from the shower with
water on my legs to lap
at the moisture and tickle
my knees I wonder if he’ll
sicken from the lotion – or
infect me with swipes of his tongue – but then
I recall some stuff I once read oh yes
sanitary dog tongues and their
spotless success while it’s
true they’re not great to wash the
dishes – they’ve been rated best to
primp a newborn babe.

-Ryn Gargulinski, Jan. 2007