dog fight

your the kind of person that makes people lose good dogs

i am coming out of the dollar store
where i went to get a few things to decompress from computer difficulties

i see a man with high piles hair, like a coil a calabrese sausage
i see he is attaching a dog to a pole
i aproach slowly as i have a chocolate bar in my hand and the sidewalk is narrow
waiting for his action pausing then will take mine

i see in a flash that the dog has a muzzle
is a white pit bull
but that the dog is also smiling and wagging his tail

for some reason how the man jerks upright after fixing his dog
for some reason feeling nervous, old fears dying slow, and
having my spider sences tingle i jump.

the man makes a muffled remark, unclear but a negative
and i stop and look at the man square in his face
eye to eye

he says this reaction is the worst
dogs can sense this
it makes them aggressive

why do you do that?

because he is wearing a muzzle..?
unsure myself
knowing i still have dog prejudice
knowing that this owner has this dog
because he wants to intimidate
knowing this because the man now
and not the dog is intimidating
saying to me
people like you are the reason people lose good dogs

if you wanted a dog people wouldn't be afraid of
perhaps a chihuahua might be a better choice

in a demonstration with the arms surveying his being
says why because i am a black man

no idea about this correlation but i start to think about
my dog prejudice, prejudice in general, this mans prejudice
unlistening, un-understanding

let me tell you something
says my petite 5' to his 6'
moving closer voice low eyes engaged
(because i know it is the small animals like me that are made truly tough)
i used to cross the road when i saw a tiny dog
now i have a dog..
but he is unlistening
sees someone and asks me to wait turning his back
as if i will wait for further misconceptions and insults
and arrogance

now i understand my hesitation
my waiting for agression
and it came
not from the dog
that continued to wag his tail
but from this man
who doesn't know me
at all.