To the Quarry and Back

I’m stuck in the first line of January,

following my host’s dog

on his walk through the stone century,

around the quarry, slices of marble and mud,

past a herd of miners exhaling smoke,

past a barn smelling of merde,

and back to where I’m stuck and broke.

The fucking dog barks at the night,

mad at the stars all his life and then again.

I rethink kicking him out,

but being cool, I let him in.