Evening Walks in Boston

When I brought my dog home to Boston,

she was only eight weeks old,

so small that someone mistook her for a bunny

and asked why I had her on a leash.

I’d walk her around the neighborhood,

passing the movie theater, a frozen yogurt shop,

and countless sports bars where people drank beers

while watching the Red Sox play on TV.

On Wednesdays, we’d see long lines

of people dressed in black,

waiting for admission

to a local bar’s weekly Goth Night.

When they saw us, they would save us over,

then dangle their chains and ribbons

so my dog would stand on her hind legs and dance.

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Caitlin O’Halloran is a biracial Filipino-American writer living in Rochester, New York. Her poetry has been published in literary magazines, including ONE ART, Third Wednesday, and Panoply. Her poems also appear in the anthology, Tiny Moments Vol. V (Bronze Bird Books). www.caitlinohalloran.com