Bark

I am a dog barking in the nighttime.
There may have been a reason, once,
but I’ve long-since forgotten.
Now, all that matters is that burning
in my throat commanding, “Bark!”
It lets me know I’m here.
It says that I’m aware.
It shows I feel you out there
moving past the verge of darkness,
potent with the mystery of why I bark
yet free from it.

I would be with you if I could.
I would be you if I could.
But I am on this side of the light,
a dog barking in the nighttime.