Hide and Seek
I'm scrunched flat in a display case –
will you ever find me here?
The glass so smudged with seasons and neglect.
The room so dark and derelict.
Windows boarded.
Spiders own this place – cobwebs
above my head.
A sudden crack of light
chinks the gloom. Creak of feet
on wooden floor.
Can your dog hear my heartbeat
magnified in glass?
I could be a child abducted.
A store clerk trapped when earth shook
and the ceiling fell.
Today it’s just-pretend, a game.
I’m waiting for your dog to find me
in this dismal cache.
A beam of flashlight crosses, passes by.
The dog’s breath more insistent,
focused – closing in.
You scan me with your light,
find your own reflection smeared
on filthy glass.
You can’t imagine
I’d hide in such a place.
Your dog’s a whiz, but stuck
with a human partner who won’t believe
in possibilities.
~ Taylor Graham
from What the Wind Says (www.lummoxpress.com)