The last time I saw my brother’s dog — 14.5 years old, scruffy fur, splayed hips, milky eyes — I cupped her muzzle in my hand and told her she was a Good Girl. I had a feeling it might be the last time I would scratch her head. She stared into my eyes. Wrigley […]
animals
Last week, I was wiping up crumbs when brown motion out the window caught my peripheral vision. It was not random. It was deliberate, but quick, and it was dark. It was not my dog, because she was under the high chair seeking the crumbs I was wiping. It was not my neighbor’s dog, who […]
Watasenia scintillans, also known as the sparkling enope or firefly squid, grows to about 3 inches long and lives only one or two years. The firefly squid’s body is covered with bioluminescent cells that serve many different functions. The glowing cells on a squid’s arms help it signal and communicate with its peers. The cells […]
Two weeks ago, late to the zeitgeist as ever, I watched My Octopus Teacher, the Oscar-winning documentary about a relationship between a human and a cephalopod. Probably you’ve seen it (and if not, you should!), but, in brief, it’s about the yearlong friendship filmmaker Craig Foster strikes up with a female common octopus who lives […]
A version of this poem appeared in Doubleback Review. The Death of the Lobster I. The death of the lobster will commence quietly. One night, she will awake and find her shell slightly too snug: The lobster’s shell has stopped growing. The lobster has not. Tomorrow, her shell will be tighter; the next day, tighter […]
High above the place where you’re reading this, maybe many miles away or, if you’re lucky, just outside your door, there is a strange and dangerous realm. Few dare to venture there, and many who do are unprepared for what they’ll encounter. Even fewer live in this harsh realm, especially all the time. It is […]
I have some new neighbors who many people would consider a nuisance. They show up at random times. They occasionally kick the rocks that line my driveway, and once they knocked off my downspout. They also eat garbage and leave a real mess. These neighbors are mostly loners. They watch me, unblinking, and do not […]
Last fall, when I was deeply in need of a warm, distracting project, I got a puppy. She is very cute, extremely soft, and really annoying. She enjoys chewing everything, but she especially loves my shoelaces and my wrist, both of which she would carry in her mouth at all times like a prized possession, […]