Shame on You

When people say shame on you
you do not have to wear their meaning
like a shawl.

There is what is real.
What we say is real.
And the reality others impose.

You raise your hand
to the big bear constellation
to feel the vibration of universe.

I raise my hand, too
but unfamiliar with galactic things
feel the desire to hold your hand.

Out of the night
the cold apparition of your departed dog
appears to both of us.

It tells us it never liked the food
you placed in its dish—
only hunger forced it to eat.

Before your rebuttal
the apparition evaporates
like so much fog.

You state you will take this rebuke
as a new starting point
for tomorrow’s dog.

copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney