i held my tongue one too many times
and now it’s run away
i freed it
for just a moment
but it saw an opportunity
and took it
the last time i saw it
it was in the yard
digging underneath the fence
by the back wall
i couldn’t call out to it
so i just watched it dig
i suppose i could have run after it
but at the time
part of me wanted to let it go
it can cause so much trouble sometimes
wagging away with wild abandon
after all
that’s why i was holding it in the first place
but now it’s gone
leaving just a hole underneath the fence
between the azaleas and the daffodils
and i wish i had it back
— Clio 04.01.21