Aristotle and his Dad

as a joke
my father
put me in a box full of
puppies that had in big black marker letters

FREE TAKE ONE

and i stood in the box
at about
three years old
all those puppies bouncing into me
clawing me with their
little puppy claws
licking
squealing nervously
as my father stood there and laughed

years have gone by

the puppies have
all turned into
dogs
with bad names
like pepper or morgana
that have died by now
in backyards, streets, or kennels

and me,
i am no longer free

and today i took
my father in his wheelchair
bedridden
and mumbling god
and the rules of AA and 12 steps
that lead in circles

until we got to
the offramp of the
freeway
and i slapped a 'for sale' sign
on his chest
and walked off

as the cars
drove by
and did not stop
and probably never would