A dog bargained with a man:
“Feed me. Pet me. Shelter me.
I will be faithful.”
It wagged its tail,
barked at shadows,
guarded the door.
Then the man brought home a woman.
She gave her body
and her years. Faithful.
God’s breath made a woman.
Man’s hand bound a wife.
The dog was crowned with a collar.
The wife, shackled with a ring.
The dog roamed through the meadows;
she labored for the children.
The pet slept at the master’s feet;
she knelt, scrubbing the floors.
When the dog’s teeth sank into his flesh,
the wound faded into a story—
a joke retold,
the bite forgiven with time.
But her words cut deeper than fangs
and kept the wound open.
She was damned forever.
The dog remained man’s best friend,
while the wife crystallized
her loneliness
into diamond.
© 2026 WolverineLily 🌺
Wolverine Lily 