You shake the rain from matted fur
Paws mud-caked on splintered fir
Nose prints wet on weathered grain
Lightning writes your ghosted name
Taproot holds the porch floor down
Hound rests head on boot toe crown
Thunder rolls like tectonic sound
Safe inside this patch of ground
Ears twitch sharp at Artemesia scent
Dreams of quail in cactus bent
Old scar tissue maps the chase
Etched in dermal leather lace
Taproot holds the porch floor down
Hound rests head on boot toe crown
Thunder rolls like tectonic sound
Safe inside this patch of ground
Quercus drops its acorn cap
You snap it in a sudden snap
Phloem sweet on broken shell
Calm between the thunder swell
Taproot holds the porch floor down
Hound rests head on boot toe crown
Thunder rolls like tectonic sound
Safe inside this patch of ground
Rain falls hard on tin roof skin
Mycorrhiza drinks it in
You exhale a heavy cloud
Head rests heavy, disavowed
Radicle seeks the water table
Storm passes, wind grows stable
Dawn breaks pale on clapboard gray
You will hunt another day
Paws rise stiff on creaking board
Morning drinks the storm's reward
Tail sweeps dust in slow arc swing
Pack bonds form on porch rope string
Taproot holds the porch floor down
Hound claims space on boot toe crown
Thunder fades to distant sound
Home is where the roots are found
Boot toe warm on fur so deep
Taproot promises you keep
