No! He can’t be in that thicket! He’d have gone ‘round to the highway!

Can’t be sure of that. He could be hunkered down in there. I’m going through to check.

No, no—yes, yes, I am—no, don’t—yes; entering large yes, no, don’t, tall thicket of weeds no, yes, I am dark, Don’t go there, to the yes, I am creepy, I cannot hear! Loving yourself starts with loving shh others. Don’t despair. Most sh go through years not seeing s the path clearly. Most go through years struggling through the brush first on one side then on the other side of life’s long ssss hard ss road. Rattled and seeking, they don’t see the sh beautifully smooth sun-blessed path down shh the center.

It’s the dog’s walk.

That just s one glance would unveil to the big, to, Come back! the creepy the creepy house creepy house ‘round house ‘round my ‘round my block, my block, overridden block overridden with, overridden with weeds, with weeds ‘n weeds, ‘n debris, Cannot hear you! ‘n debris unfinished debris off this biomass unfinished, so unfinished, so long so long looking long looking weatherbeaten looking weatherbeaten and weatherbeaten and abandoned and abandoned but, abandoned but a but pop mango pop mango mango pop pop a long a s long sh white shh long sh white s, Still can’t hear you kid! SUV white SUV parks SUV parks there parks there daily, there daily, a daily a shadowy a shadowy man, a shadowy man.

It’s the dog’s walk.

I’m sorry, but I’ve none of those on me at the moment. A man, a swarthy a swarthy and swarthy and stout and stout man, over men s rather they dart from shhh one extreme to the other, assuming shh the road to enlightenment must sh be harsh and extreme. Some push and push never stopping, and s never experience sh any peace. Their only peace s is the final s oblivion of the grave. sh. Know this, don’t question. Try knowing this, every day. Knowing the folly of continuous s wanting. Stout shhhhhh oily face over crisp black clothing, Talk slower kid! Man stands, man, fat stems all over, off the off never reach into anything even remotely resembling in shape anybody’s vagina; off the biomass, stands looking, stands, looking.

It’s the dog’s walk, not yours.

Insomnia and stiff starched sheets just don’t mix. Looking at something at something, Big thicket of weeds! The something, the house, the house, the house the SUV the SUV the SUV the rubbl’d the rubbl’d down rubbl’d down weedy-rimmed thickety-thickly-thick SUV, Talk louder kid! Down weedy-rimmed lot weedy-rimmed lot shh with shhhhh lot with the with the weeds the weeds all weeds all let all let go let go, to go to shh taller to taller than sh taller than a s than a an actually entire man. What’re you saying? It’s all just one endless big dizzy spell, man, a man, it is impossible, I am afraid, for me it’s impossible for me to ever say certain words aloud, so; please get to the point! Okay?

It’s the dog’s walk.

The point’s that my dog’s done with that one, and wants to move on to find himself his next one! In man in the in the twilight the twilight or twilight or the or the dawn the dawn always dawn, always never, always sh sh the area once known as Great Britain’s breadbasket’s never at never at noon, at wanting and wanting just blinds one from seeing the rapidly approaching nothingness of one’s end. Say it with me shhhhhhhhh and say it to each other. That is not me. Those are not us. This way shh leads to sh nothing. At noon, never noon, Can’t tell what they’re saying! They’re jamming the shit out of radio China right now, for Christ’s sake! Never in, never in in the sun.

It’s the dog’s walk.

In the sun, it’s sun stink rotting biomass. It’s creepy, so creepy, so creepy can’t creepy can’t sleep, can’t sleep here sleep, in this cheap hotel bed all puffed up too puffy; bigger thicket of weeds! Here can’t, here can’t sleep, there’s s-shreds of it everywhere shhhhh pop pop mango mango pop mango pop can’t sleep, must sleep; I don’t get it! Must get must get up get up get up get back, get back home, back home tip one home tip tip one creepy’s in one’s first moment born one’s wise to start preparing at once to inevitably meet one’s maker. Sorry, but I don’t usually carry that much around with me. One creepy’s enough, creepy’s enough is enough, is enough is enough, your enough, snapped these trunks all ‘round here.

It’s the dog’s walk, not yours.

Split right down your questions; by the transcendent power of compound interest, s swear to God, nobody gets sh it! Your s questions will questions shh will shhh be will sh be taken be taken s-s-s no taken no but no ss but no s but no answers sh no answers are answers are promised s are promised, but answers were promised yes they were, all packed off this biomass. Ho! Fix right now that disgusting sprung out collar; if we watch just one more moment, so waken, we will puke. Waken. Within. Look at each other and you will se sh e. Touch each othe shhh-r and you will feel. Look at each other shh as lon s g as it takes. Stop wanting it now. You’ve got it already. Just know that within your together, there it might very well be.

It’s the dog’s walk.

Just know we’ll all puke down you if this or that, but, Hey! I can’t wait! Once, No no, wait; but within your own once, Talk louder! In once in a in a while a Wait, I’m coming, while somebody can’t wait for you anymore! Within your own, while somebody’s blessed, somebody’s blessed with blessed with, I got to go, the with the luck the luck of luck of the got to go after him or of the draw the draw bye within your fat spirit, to the creepy, to the creepy, or he’ll escape us! Why must everyone continuously wear clothing? Bye, all you biggest thickets of weeds! Bye exiting wait wait I’m out I’m large tall thicket of weeds all brightly! Bye. Bye. I’m out.

It’s the dog’s walk.

Eh, I’m out, eh eh I’m out! The animals don’t seem ashamed of their bodies, why eh eh eh where’d you pop mango pop mango mango pop pop they seem not to know of any shame at all. Where’d you go hey. Within your own spirit lies your lord.

What?

Come on, come on, catch up! Up here! I told you there’s be nothing there—but we still can catch him, if we don’t waste no more time! Come on! My God, what the hell’s that all over you? You look like hell!

Crap. Uh. Hey look.

What? I said come on! This is not over!

Yes, it is. Look there!

Oh.

Uh.

Well. Hello there. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we do.

It’s the dog’s walk, not yours.

Jim Meirose’s short work has appeared in numerous venues, and his published novels include Le Overgivers au Club de la Résurrection (Mannequin Haus), Understanding Franklin Thompson (JEF pubs), and Sunday Dinner with Father Dwyer (Optional books). Info at: www.JimMeirose.com @jwmeirose