Walking in the Rain

Nothing brings joy
to a young dog
like rolling in wet grass.

"Cut that out!" I say.

She smiles,
rolls some more,
gets up and shakes off
water from my neighbor's lawn.

Now it's time
for spontaneous affection,
jumping on clean jeans
with muddy paws,
ready to lick my face
if I stoop to her level.

"Where's your dignity?" I ask.

Her ears perk up.
She tilts her head
and stares at me
with curious dark eyes.

"Woof," she says.

And I understand.

Flashback

"I thought I saw you once
in Chinatown
before I knew you,"
she said.
"You were parked
on Mulberry Street
and when I looked at you
you gave me a horrible face."

"It couldn't have been me,"
he said,
"because I would never make
a horrible face
at a beautiful woman."

She smiled.
"You dog."

"And besides,
I never could find
parking on Mulberry,"
he said.

More photos from Mardi Gras at Village Artisans

Photos by Susan Gartner

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More photos from the Short Film Fest

Nicholas Rollins (“The Crazy Mind”) and Jeremy Johnson (prologue to “The State”)

Alex Mangen (“Ballet Dropout”)

Susan Gartner (“Anatomy of a Sculpture”)

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