~
A silence abounds, 
when we make our rounds,
my two dogs and I on our walks.
 
There are
houses with spouses,
singles, and what-nots.
They don’t wave,
they won’t smile,
nor talk.
 
This silence astounds
on these daily done rounds,
it’s the sounds
of a safe distance silence.
 
Some cut-level looks,
non-verbal announcements,
signals potential
to low-level violence.
 
”Don’t tread on me!”
kinetic pronouncements
are the sounds
of a safe distance silence.
 
One day, one time,
on one of these walks,
a man began ambling our way.
Amazing, I’m thinking,
this man wants to talk!
It should be surprising
to hear what he’ll say.
 
This also might mean
I might have mistaken
the spouses in houses,
the singles, and what-nots.
 
So I greeted and smiled
even after he’d spoken.
 
He looked at me squarely,
unfriendly and said:
”Fella!
This ain’t no dog walking area!”
 
 
Copyright © 2011 Marvin Loyd Welborn. All Rights Reserved.
Revised 26 July 2015