Rain Dog

The retriever, shaking off the rain,

right by my leg, a sudden spray.

And then that smell, again, again,

from some particular, far-off day.

Damp earth, and something wild and deep,

a musky kind of fur and grit.

Secrets that a dog might keep,

if he could ever just transmit.

It stuck to me, that heavy air,

like mud prints on a kitchen floor.

Made me remember standing there,

outside a back screen door.