They Said

They said if I ever betrayed them
they’d climb up through the floor boards
and tie the dog’s ears to
a tea towel
I said apron strings would be more useful
they said it was not possible to climb through apron strings
I disputed that
but thought the debate would last all night
and there wasn’t time
as the dogs flapping ears testified.
The red carpet wrapped around the green shoes
and slowly but surely
the tea towel was pulled from under our feet with incredible discretion
they politely said
enough was enough
I also disputed that
because red is just too
much
even the dog knows that
but because of the angels
we thought it best to keep quiet on that one
generally speaking it never quite works
I’m sure it’s the whiskers
I never betray even the longest Apron Strings
they are usually flowery and I don’t see that it matters anyway.
Pink has always been important to me
thick to the back teeth pink
the sound of a silent room sort of pink
so pale it’s not white
dense fog
cat curling pink