Dog Star

tea kettle whistling--
steam clouds
the windows

Thursday night. Another wife-daughter fight with raised voices, crying, doors slamming, I grab my jacket, call the border collie and bolt into the frigid night. The ravine trail is barely visible, the stream frozen ...

beneath
the skin of ice--
dark waters

An owl calls. I pause, wait for the next call, let the silence sink in. Branches sweep toward a star-filled sky. The dog presses close, warm fur, her tail wagging ...

Sirius
on the horizon--
a nudge toward home

published in Lynx

Note: Sirius is known as the dog star and is in the Canis Major constellation. Not including our sun, it's the brightest star in the sky.