Dog Days
March 2025
She is getting her education in history.
She stars in a theatrical production of a coup.
She wears a noh mask
engraves a contour
engraving her face.
In her off hours,
she studies life studies.
This is salute as speech, manners in diplomatic company.
This is painting yourself in, stanching a bleed,
brushing out cat piss,
my first experience of inescapable foulness.
She kept rubbing the same spot.
“I’ve rubbed it raw,” she said.
✳