Photos of my dog Snoot before and after I forget to give him the last bite from my table.

“The woman knelt before Jesus and cried out, “Lord, help me!” But Jesus asked, “Is it right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs?” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Mathew 15: v. 25 (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Baba Bathra 8a.)  h/t Craig Keen

Of Kissing: An Evolutionary Paleo-Ontology With a Key to the Scriptures.

My dog is 100 years old
I wonder who’s master
How many nights
Could he have killed me in my sleep
Yet chose not to

Our deal is
He gets my last bite
I get to eat without pestering
Except for his Jesus on the cross eyes

The Talmud cautions
Sin not against dog
Against our life—world
These are the only unforgivable
Second bites at the apple

Reneging on the deal
Biting the cosmos that feeds you
Forgetting which tree is which
Consolidating etymologies until
Word don’t mean shit

We watch television together
Two broken-down voyeurs
Flickering eyes track fleet wolves
Running to ground an old Caribou
The exhausted bull ran his heart out
Until his legs and lungs surrendered

Respecting the food chain
The Alpha-wolf eats first
Starting with the bleeding-heart
Then the warm liver and soft guts

The congregation circles waiting
For the *Liturgy of Addai and Mari*
Take this spleen, this tongue, this haunch
This is my body
Given up for you

The weakest member gets the last bite
This is the way of the wolf—pack
Before money markets or mercy
We licked fresh blood from each others lips
And over aeons
Found love

(From *The Book of Lost Kisses* By Daniel Imburgia).
Obliged.