Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle Read Free Book Online

with B.B.’s scientific
    attention to detail as she shows me
    the colors of bear scat—that’s a biologist’s
    way of saying poop . Blue scat means a bear
    might have munched elderberries. Purple
    could be from wild blackberries, and red
    might be manzanita.

    That evening, I post a Dog Nose blog entry
    about bear behavior, along with a list
    of wild foods. Blue and purple berries
    are often safe, but white and yellow
    are usually risky. There aren’t any rules
    for red. Wild strawberries are fine,
    but some red berries are deadly.
    Some things in life just can’t be
    predicted.
    The subject of safety catches my interest,
    so I do some research, then post a list
    of foods that can poison dogs:
    grapes, raisins, onions, garlic,
    macadamia nuts, chocolate.
    Gabe is called a chocolate Lab
    only because his rich brown color
    is warm and happy, not because
    it would be fine if you gave him
    a candy bar. He’d get convulsions.
    He could die. Writing about danger
    makes me worry—what would I do
    if anything ever
    happened to Gabe?
    He sniffs my hand, as if he can smell
    the invisible fingerprint
    of my thoughts.
    I wish we could both smell
    the future.

 
    22
    GABE THE DOG
    CHASING THE MOON
    Tony talks about a future,
    but I don’t know what he means,
    so we go outdoors, where he throws
    a yellow glow-in-the-dark ball.
    When a foolish squirrel runs
    right in front of me, I don’t chase it
    very far, because my teeth are already
    biting
    the brightness
    of my light-catching
    moon wish.
    I can’t imagine ever needing
    to do anything but play, right here,
    right now, together.

 
    23
    TONY THE BOY
    DANCING ELEPHANTS
    Gracie sends a note of approval
    all the way from India, shouting
    an all-caps BRAVO! for my bear-
    and-berry entry in the Dog Nose blog.
    She adds an animal note of her own,
    a poem called “Elephant Step Dance,”
    about the way the soles of huge feet
    can hear the drummed vibrations
    of elephant messages
    made by stomping
    boom boom
    on dry
    hard
    earth.
    The poem is funny, but is it true?
    I rush to find out, and my research
    tells me that yes, elephant feet
    really do act like extra ears,
    absorbing sounds.
    I picture loud Gracie
    on the other side of the world,
    making sure that her own
    booming voice
    is heard
    in verse.
    A few days later, there’s another
    useless phone call from Mom.
    Gracie’s poetic drum rhythm
    helps me think about my own
    pounding fury
    each time I have to hear
    the lies.
    The last time I went to the prison,
    I was
    the silent
    sullen
    one
    but now
    I’m noisy
    and vicious.
    Anger is like a disease.
    You can catch it.
    You can give it.

 
    24
    GABE THE DOG
    THE SMELL OF A VOICE
    When Tony yells into the phone,
    I run and hide
    in a dark
    closet—
    my cave.…
    I won’t come out. I won’t.
    Yelling isn’t like thunder, far away in high sky.
    Screaming is close. A shouting voice hurts.
    I feel the slap of each word
    as it spills
    the bitter odor
    of danger
    into my nose.

 
    25
    TONY THE BOY
    FOUND AND LOST
    Loser, loser, loser! I feel so terrible
    about scaring Gabe by yelling at Mom
    over the phone. I feel so horrible,
    so awful, so lost!
    But Gabe forgives me right away.
    He always forgives everyone.
    If Tío gets mad at him for breaking
    the No Chasing Squirrels rule,
    they make up quickly, but I never
    seem to get over things
    swiftly
    and easily
    like a trusting dog
    or a really smart
    grown-up.
    Why does 50 percent of my mind
    always seem to be stuck
    in unhappy mode?
    There’s only one way
    to take my thoughts away from
    Mom’s prison cell of rage.
    Searches. Finding the lost. Helping.
    My uncle tells me that before
    the invention of GPS gadgets,
    there were searches almost every day.
    Hardly anyone knew what to do
    with a compass and map, or how
    to navigate by the stars.
    Now, with GPS and fancy new
    satellite phones that can get a signal
    anywhere—even in the most remote
    wild