By Kathy Wagenknecht

archeologists found
skeletal evidence
Britain’s Roman residents
kept small dogs
not dogs
bred for hunting
or herding
too small
too squat
only 7 inches
at the shoulder

after Romans conquered
buildings followed
like those of Rome
baths
mosaics
tapestries

and it seems
lap dogs

why the surprise?
dogs have found
their place
in laps of Europe
the Far East
monasteries and palaces
wherever an extra mouth
can be fed

why not the castles
of the north
surrounded by ice
heathens
unrest

a small dog
asleep on a lap
warms both the lap
and the soul

conquerers need comfort too

August 2023

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