She’ll get a dog
a Weimaraner
I know

She’ll call him Alfie
after her first
two dogs

He’ll try to get up
on the bed
She’ll say, Alfie, no, no

But in the night
she will let him
so as not to be lonely

-Jerry Ratch, 

“What a cache of treasures this collection is, what a cache of jewels. […] All are reminders of what the best, briefest poems can do: give back the world to us, as it passes, in the mirror of a few well-chosen words.”

-Cecilia Woloch

Other poems from Bigger Than They Appear:

• "To a Friend with Whom I had a Falling Out" by Gerald Fleming
• “A Blessing” by Matthew Thornburn
• “Violin” by Merry Speece
• “After the Rain” by Robert E. Wood
• “The Art of Giving” by Kathleen Gerard

Jerry Ratch has published 12 books of poetry, the novel Wild Dreams of Reality, and the memoir A Body Divided. See his website: jerryratch.com.