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                                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                 |
                                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                 |
                                                                                                                       |                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.                                |
                                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                 |
                                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                 |
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