Too good -- A Man Is Only As Good....

A MAN IS ONLY AS GOOD...


A man is only as good
as what he says to a dog
when he has to get up out of bed
in the middle of a wintry night
because some damned dog has been barking;

and he goes and opens the door
in his vest and boxer shorts
and there on the pock-marked wasteground
called a playing field out front
he finds the mutt with one paw

raised in expectation
and an expression that says Thank God
for a minute there I thought
there was no one awake but me
in this goddamned town.



Note: This poem is this week's Poem of the Week from Poetry International. I liked it so much when I read it yesterday morning that I had to share it. You can listen here to the poet reading. And there's also Pat Boran's page on Poetry International.

© 2007, Pat Boran