Not Meant as Poems

Fiona Sze-Lorrain

II Putin’s Dog

can’t bark.

Putin’s dog
can’t jump
from a lofty height.

Putin’s dog
can’t fornicate
with other bourgeois dogs

on a winter stroll
in the Tsaritsyno Park.

Putin’s dog
can’t beg,
but is groomed,
spoilt,
and fed. With what—

I have no idea, neither
does the press.

Putin’s dog
can’t fire
its master
or look sick.
It won’t suffer

beating or torture,
but can’t sleep
without having to hide.

But Putin’s dog, like
all dogs, can
(thank God)
pee-pee
or caca
whenever it likes.

Endpaper