An Inhuman Presence Poem by David Whalen

<center>(If Poe had one, he might have written thusly)


The rhythmic thump
‘gainst the floor

That resounds
Both day and night

That gentle rustle,
That familiar bustle

That accompanies me
Through deepest, darkest night

That calms my soul
And fills the hole

That void that
Would otherwise exist

Presence there That ne’er
E’er, ceases to persist

Whose touch I feel
And who so insists…

That I touch in turn
And caress in delight…

And whose tail thumps
<center>Rhythmically, faithfully (and light)

And is the measured metronome
That calms hearth, heart and home

My canine friend, e’er true blue
Who helps me through

The deepest…darkest…dreary
night

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