by Jim Ross
Body 1
This puppy
(my body heavier than water)
thinks I know the way,
breaking the surface
reflecting
intentions shifting
somewhere below
thinks I know
our common bond
through tides, through moons in flight
waves lifting the surface
order beneath
trusts me to keep
the sturdy binding of
our single mind
which somehow floats
through all the levels
his puppy body
our life preserver.
Body 2
In dark
the warriors
coyote, fox, black bear
gather
circle the house
so gently
but through the cones of consciousness
he knows
and lifts his layered mind
growls
barks
and lunges out to meet the threat
my guardian
my bodyguard
my body.
margot lasher is a playwright: Other Minds, Intake, I Belong Somewhere, and recently, The Football Play. She writes about our connection to animals and our environment, and an understanding of the brain that goes beyond the accepted ‘normal’. Her monologue Stay, for actor and dog, was performed at the New York State Psychology Conference, and The Dogs was included in a work about trauma for the RecoverMe mental illness project. She lives in rural Vermont with all the animals. https://newplayexchange.org/users/1549/margot-lasher
Jim Ross jumped into creative pursuits in 2015 after rewarding career in public health research. With graduate degree from Howard University, in eight years he’s published nonfiction, fiction, poetry, photography, hybrid, interviews, and plays in nearly 200 journals on five continents. Photo publications include Alchemy Spoon, Barnstorm, Burningword, Camas, Feral, Phoebe, and Stonecoast. Photo-essays include DASH, Kestrel, Litro, NWW, Paperbark, Pilgrimage Magazine, Sweet, and Typehouse. Recently nominated for Best of the Net in Nonfiction and Art, he also wrote/acted in a one-act play and appeared in a documentary limited series broadcast internationally. Jim’s family splits time between city and mountains.