dogs with long claws

After the house burned down

She ran for miles with pencils in her hair

Forgetting the pictures she used draw so vigilantly

Hands with seven fingers, dogs with long claws

Everywhere she went, a trail of old shavings

Now we pass the days luring cats out from under cars

And nights building nests out of tires and sticks

Though the crack in the door I watch her move through dark hallways

Then out into the night, singing:

What once floated

now sinks like a stone