Rikki Santer
Rikki Santer’s poetry has been published widely and has received many honors including several Pushcart and Ohioana book award nominations, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 2023 she was named Ohio Poet of the Year. Her twelfth poetry collection, Resurrection Letter: Leonora, Her Tarot, and Me, is a sequence in tribute to the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. Please contact her through her website, https://rikkisanter.com.
Life Poodle
after Alan Shapiro
A lifeblood of curlicues, shlup shlup of tongue and snout that
welcomes the morning sun. Sometimes tethered, sometimes vying for
dog park hierarchy and its standard, miniature, toy of free range. And
when you can’t find what you’re looking for, use your nose or gnaw
what’s good for gnawing. Know the trot of best in show distracts as
does each bowl of sautéed steak. Scissorhands can groom any bitch or
stud for tufts and rosettes of circus play and each echo of bark, arf, or
yelp reminds that you’re still here and that there’s no other stink that
stinks quite like you. Remember to run from the newspaper but lavish
laps that promise comfort and glee. And when you snarl and want to
go for the throat, instead lift your leg or squat then whack back and
forth your compliant tail to the singsong melodies of good dog.
dog park hierarchy and its standard, miniature, toy of free range. And
when you can’t find what you’re looking for, use your nose or gnaw
what’s good for gnawing. Know the trot of best in show distracts as
does each bowl of sautéed steak. Scissorhands can groom any bitch or
stud for tufts and rosettes of circus play and each echo of bark, arf, or
yelp reminds that you’re still here and that there’s no other stink that
stinks quite like you. Remember to run from the newspaper but lavish
laps that promise comfort and glee. And when you snarl and want to
go for the throat, instead lift your leg or squat then whack back and
forth your compliant tail to the singsong melodies of good dog.
