1
 
Sleep is good for your health
but the dogs
bark
all night long
outside your window.
Not just one thin howl
scything at the air,
they perform a chorus
with an encore lopped on the end
just to push you over.
It pays not to think of the content
of a chorus of dogs,
or the inspiration
for such a production,
as that will only
drive you further.
‘Your health is suffering,’
the doctor says.
 

2
 
A man is about to swing a spade
at the back of an unsuspecting someone’s head,
and he would,
if only the dogs would stop barking.
 
There is one bit in the movie
where your sister always jumps to her knees
and squeals ‘Oh no! Here it comes!,’
so you can never hear
 
the actual thud of collision
of stockinged brick and skull.
The thud itself may in fact be the point of it
but you can’t even think
 
your theory through
because of the dogs yapping at each other
in dialogue. It becomes all you hear
and think about, and soon
 
you wonder if you can speak ‘Dog’
purely through osmosis.
 

3
 
On recollection, you think the dogs
have ruined every important moment
in your life.
 
School ceremonies, marriage proposals,
segments of silence
in the park. Always a dog
 
barking out of turn, running
through the scene,
or wearing a dog-sized cardigan
 
in an absurd colour.
Tangerine.
Mint.