Between Us
My husband takes the dog along
to gather the mail.
His grey matching winter’s muzzle,
a retriever seamlessly blending into snow.
The walk to the box is as long as a meadow;
a city block to remember from whence he came.
Once, there was no dog, no country home,
only letters through a slit in the door.
Four bedrooms, one occupied—no children,
no wife.
We are nearly ten years into this game—
we’re still playing.
But that’s not what he’s thinking as I eye
him from the window—the dog flanking his calves.
It’s the distance that excites, it’s the return;
it’s the marrow between us.
Between Us by Deirdre Fagan | Sandalwood Poetry Reed Diffuser
Dr. Deirdre Fagan is an award-winning author of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism. Featured on ABC, CBS, and NPR television and radio, as well as in Newsweek and HuffPost, Fagan, described by Kirkus Reviews as a “sharply descriptive writer,” is the author of five books; her most recent include a poetry collection, Phantom Limbs, and a memoir, Find a Place for Me. Fagan is the editor of the Orange Blossom Review and professor and coordinator of creative writing at Ferris State University in Michigan.
