Struck


When I was bitten by the labradoodle 
on the left buttock— 

a quick, sneaky nip— 
 
it didn’t tear my pants 
and it didn’t break the skin 
and it didn’t even leave a bruise 
to speak of,  
but man, did it hurt.  

It stung. 

A full professor in a three-piece suit 
slips on a banana peel 
and falls. 

This is supposed to be funny 
but it isn’t really.

The whole way down 
I was thinking 
about all the people in the world 
who are tripped up and beaten 
and spit on, every day,

it had been so long 
since anything had struck me.