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"Shelters of Change" & "Stretch" by Ryan Keating



—Shelters of Change—


What if the day is a house built

in the sky by the sun that means

to hold it up forever by beams


that collapse with the shifting

foundation at every rotation

leaving the tent of night pitched


by the moon in dark blue cloth

cast over just for now all

the nomads knowing it will be


folded up at the next turn

and the sun is unable to see

the peace of loving passing


shadows and shelters of change?




—Stretch—


A pack of small street dogs stretch

like putty around parked cars

in downtown Famagusta-

a beige blob of dachshund mixes

and terriers blending, breaking

and sticking back together;

a self-conscious chemical bond of

eleven sets of little legs

reacting as particles and compound

bound and loose

trying to belong and anxious

about being lost or missing out.

A ceremonial dance-

yip, step, step, stop, quick look, sniff

weaving and leading and following

souls open wide and overflowing

to take in the whole world

and spill out onto the city

where they will inevitably

dissolve into their elements

and leave behind their bodies

as substance and solution

dissipating from earth to sky

from city to kingdom, a final

stretch from offspring to ancestor

broken and coming together.




A note from the author: “Shelters of Change” poses a question about the value of impermanence.

“Stretch” reflects on the ultimate destination of our local street dogs.

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