promise

promise that you will take care

the lady that knocks on my door asking to use the phone
is begging for spare change

her teeth are furry,
and her stomach large lurching forward

in the pizza parlour the little asian woman makes pizza
pepperoni, hawaian, vegetarian, deluxe..

her crust is doughy and soft and unchallenging
i think of the pillsbury dough boy and keep on eating

we stop at the store that sells socks, locks and porn
to buy notebooks to write down the names

round the corner we go
the whole family pack

owen the dinasour sweater dog
and i at the back

the straight backed man in the felt hat
holding the little girl's hand in the front

the weather promise is spring time
but i am not fooled the weather has many moods

round corners we go until we reach the cemetary
and collect up names for future fictions

bea deciedes to write a story about meeting a butler
a mystery she says
jay collects names for his purposes
and because we have walked a way
the little puppy naps in my coat
for a while

a lady in a car asks about him
the lady in the purple pants warned me
of dog abduction,
the man with a maniquein arm walks by
dirtied by the melting snow

cars rush past,
on the other side of the fence
stones ingraved with people of the past
and words found fitting by loved ones

the pizza mediocre
the sun and light nice
bea's foot starts to hurt and she sobs
all the way home

perhaps the new boots or just fatigue
or the promise of cartoon television shows
not yet available

i walk and look down, avoiding patches of salted
sidewalk and glass shards..

one foot then the next doing an untangling dance
with the leash

promise for us yet...