Having a Nice Walk

poem

I waited at a crosswalk
and a pick-up truck with a cap
on the bed drove past.
No big deal.
The back of the cap was open.
That's fine.
A dog lunged out of the dark
under the cap,
barking like we had some hillbilly grudge.
His white teeth and pink gums and a voice
like smashing rocks together in a cement room.
Loud barking.
This dog wanted me to know
that our relationship had very little future.
When any creature seems to want you to know that,
it hurts a person's feeling.
Did it scare the actual piss out of me?
No - but it scared me pretty bad.
One second I was imagining
a very large sandwich, mostly beef,
and the next second death shouted itself
hoarse right in my face.
Lots of dogs have expressed 
the same opinion to me.
But typically that can only happen
if you walk past their yard.
By working with the truck driving guy
and the dark under the cap in the bed
this dog had significantly elevated 
his ability to scare the living piss out of people.
"It's amazing what we can accomplish 
when we combine our diverse efforts and skills,"
I thought to myself, legs shaky, walking home
in the hunching dusk.