Pamela Taylor – Instinct
She likes her dogs the way she likes her men–large and long- haired, happy to be at her feet.
She keeps them close, tethered, lets them walk ahead, sniffing and stopping every few moments
to turn back to see if she’s pleased and feels protected. She leans down to pet her approval, whispers
Growl for me, baby, show the world your teeth
then slinks behind their shadows. She has no nose for danger, no gift for burying old bones. She only does
what she’s been taught: sit, look pretty, fetch, roll over, beg, stay.
Pamela L. Taylor is a data guru by day and a poet by night. She is a co-organizer of Living Poetry, a group that organizes and promotes poetry events throughout the Triangle area of North Carolina. When Pamela is not working or writing, she’s dancing Argentinean tango. In 2016 she relocated to Boston. Read more of Pamela L. Taylor’s poetry published on When Women Waken. Pamela writes at A Poet’s Double Life.
Category: African American, Knowing, Poetry, United States of America
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- Year in Review 2014 | A Poet's Double Life | December 21, 2014
This is delightful. Oh how men are like dogs. You’ve said a mouthful with this piece so whimsical and sweet. Great job, Pamela!
“She only does what she’s been taught” – I love how this piece reflects our socially constructed gender roles.