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Dog People and Cat People
Dog people whistle, bark commands
their hair is brushed neatly into place
with Brylcreem or shaggy, untrimmed
with traces of last week’s breakfast.
Dog people like horn concertos and
hunting calls, discarded chicken bones.
They travel overseas dressed in blazers
with fraternity badges, order chateaubriand
medium rare, smoke Havana cigars,
smell each other, fall asleep in deckchairs,
love trees, crackling fires, stories of loyalty.
Cat people paint fingernails or file them
they floss their teeth, dab Chanel No. 5
behind their ears, order green salads
and mineral water, nibble and sip
one eye watching their neighbors to make
sure they don’t steal from their plates.
They love antique furniture which they
sit on while licking their fingers or discussing
the latest hairstyles and sitcom episodes.
They clean up after themselves, wiping bathroom
porcelain with pink colored tissues.
Dog people and cat people argue about
everything. They don’t really dislike
one another, it’s just the way they are.
Like Mars and Venus they each have their
own place in the solar system or on
an armchair near the fire.
© Johnmichael Simon
2015
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