William Heath

If Dogs were Poets

If dogs could write poems
how everything smells
would be central, the world
is a cornucopia of odors,
they would bark in bardic
voices that each ass has its

own signature, scratching
in the dirt and such can be
an intense pleasure, there’s
nothing like a good bite
of ground beef, human
legs with their own flavor

usually aren’t worth it,
except when you get
really pissed off at some
mailman or delivery boy
who gets your hackles up,
treats you like a dog.

William Heath has published four poetry books: The Walking Man, Steel Valley Elegy, Going Places, and Alms for Oblivion; three chapbooks: Night Moves in Ohio, Leaving Seville, and Inventing the Americas; three novels: The Children Bob Moses Led (winner of the Hackney Award), Devil Dancer, and Blacksnake’s Path; a work of history, William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest (winner of two Spur Awards and the Oliver Hazard Perry Award); and a collection of interviews, Conversations with Robert Stone. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hiram College. He lives in Annapolis. www.williamheathbooks.com