In a waterlocked province
there is a crater.
In the crater there is a lake.
In the lake there is an island.
The island is a sun rock and on it,
there is a dog climbing.
On this dog there is a photo.
Lined like the palm of your hand,
stained with regret, and
in it there is another dog.
Toothy grinned and earless,
Snout tipped to the sun, open
jaws ready.
On this dog there is a tattoo.
Soft as a doily placed to his heart
white ink sleeping, and
on it, ever decreasing circles
overlapping with uppercase glyphs.
A crowd of strangers waiting
to be sorted into sets that make sense:
cipher, somebody, father, son.