Symbiosis

                                                                                                                                                                Kenneth Lee

                                                                                                                                              I sit with my thermos of coffee on the mall:
                                                                                                                                a mile-long promenade, arcades of elms
                                                                                                                                                                flanking a generous aliquot of benches.



                                                                                                                                              But at this early hour it starts to dawn:

                                                                                                                                                                I am the only one without a dog.
                                                                                                                                                  So, a witness to an ancient symbiosis,
                                                                                                                                     as it's evolved within a modern city:


                                                                                                                            The dogs, I note, are smaller, the owners
                                                                                                                                                          less ferocious. The former sniff then poop,
                                                                                                                   the latter, like potty-training parents, pat their heads,
                                                                                                                                                        gather it in plastic doggy-bags.



                                                                                                                                             It's no longer for the hunt or for protection;
                                                                                                                                                                      both species have adapted to survive

                                                                                                                                                 hard loneliness
                                                                                                                                                                         inside

                                                                                                                                                                a small apartment.