Ulrike Almut Sandig: Being a dog

being a dog: but always being there for someone and always
being cherished and be good to someone who scratches. not
always loving being a dog, preferring to be a polar bear,
ball lightning, moon over soho, vacuum over raw meat,
but also being a human: eating at the table and talking
while eating, being someone and liking eating but till
then also enjoying going along outside, but just on a
leash, grudgingly if it’s going to be outside, but then
smelling everything, trash cans or little marie’s melted
ice cream or iron manholes or peed-on lollipops or
a hole in the ground in the front yard, dug just for that,
really loving smelling everything. being good but just
being a dog. liking spending the late illuminated, over
heated evenings on pillows, killing time and not

knowing: everything shall be over tomorrow. dozing
thinking once more on those who scratch and say: oh
good boy, you little guy, you minx, coffin nail: my dog.

Tr. Bradley Schmidt. Original published 2007. That "coffin nail" in the last line is a surprise...