At the pound

There was a cacophonous racket of howls and barks all around us as we shared a soulful, utterly silent moment, this girl and I.

Dog in Bed
Nose tucked under tail,
you are a warm, furred planet
centered in my bed.
All night I orbit, tangle-limbed,
in the slim space
allotted to me.
If I accidentally
bump you from sleep,
you shift, groan,
drape your chin on my hip.
O, that languid, movie-star drape!
I can never resist it.
Digging my fingers into your fur,
kneading,
………I wonder:
How do you dream?
What do you adore?
Why should your black silk ears
feel like happiness?
This is how it is with love.
Once invited,
it steps in gently,
circles twice,
and takes up as much space
as you will give it.

 --by Joyce Sidman, from her book of poetry for young readers Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, illustrated by Rick Allen