by Rochelle Ratner
First it was one child. Now it's one dog. Better, she thinks,
to have all the children, raise them until three or four, then
send the little girls out to play with the dog. See if you can
predict which ones will pull the dog's tail, and die of rabies.
The dog, of course, would be killed then. But that's better
than killing 50,000 dogs right in front of their owners,
better than letting girls be adopted in California, Oregon,
or Colorado where just sixty years ago the Japanese were in
internment camps. Also Utah. Don't forget Utah. Red
Rover, Red Rover, let them all come over. Just the dogs,
she means. The ones with vaccinations.
Rochelle Ratner's latest poetry books include Balancing Acts (Marsh Hawk Press, 2006), Beggars at the Wall (Ikon, 2006) and House and Home (Marsh Hawk Press, 2003). She is the author of fifteen previous poetry collections and two novels (Bobby’s Girl and The Lion’s Share) both published by Coffee House Press). More information and links to her writing on the Internet can be found on her homepage.