Jess Dutschmann

A New Miracle

A new miracle is that there are dogs everywhere.
In every sunny corner of the Earth a bear shaped
pawprint has pressed, a muddy back has rolled
a divot into a lawn. In Japan a woman washes
her dog who is a good boy and deals with it.
In America a woman watches HGTV and there
is a large yellow dog in the background.
The dog runs in circles. We are not supposed
to watch her, but we do, because
she is more entertaining, or maybe just better.
How do you quantify better?
In Japan there is a monument to a good dog.
In Alaska, in America, there are monuments to good dogs.

Did you know a statue of a dog is 99% more likely to resemble a good creature
than a statue of a human? Did you know when I call

you pet it’s because I want to know that
I think better of you than to call you wife?

This is man’s crowning achievement. These dogs
everywhere, roaming in packs across everything.

Jess Dutschmann is the maker of two little books of poetry, Calamity and Titanic, so far. Jess has been well published online and in print, and won “Best of the Net” from Sundress Publications in 2011. Jess lives in Jersey City, next to a little food place that in the morning smells like bacon and at night smells like beer. For more: jessdutschmann.tumblr.com.