Yet another night, 
up late, the seconds, ticking, 
still ticking away. 

You listen to the night, 
think of things you do not hear, 

as you lie awake, 
alone in this quiet, 
but still remember. 

A chorus of dogs, barking 
down the street, always closer, 

as if following 
the path of a prowler, 
working down the street, 

checking cars, doors, and windows, 
looking for locks left unlocked. 

Another night, 
you woke to a scratching 
outside your window. 

Almost unable to breathe, 
you only moved your eyes, 

then slipped out of bed, 
lifted one edge of a slat, 
peeked through the blinds, 

watched a family of raccoons 
crawl down from your attic—

a false alarm, but 
another night, or morning, 
your wife woke to find 

your bedroom door was closed, 
but the front door stood open; 

power cords trailed 
down the hall, the computers, 
all gone—but you knew 

burglars had been inside 
your bedroom, but had left you 

sleeping, but still alive. 

Gary S. Rosin

is a Contributing Editor of MacQueen’s Quinterly. His poetry and haiga have appeared, or are forthcoming, in various literary reviews and anthologies, including Chaos Dive Reunion (Mutabilis Press, 2023); contemporary haibun (Volume 17, Red Moon Press, 2022); Concho River Review, Sulphur River, Texas Poetry Calendar; The Ekphrastic Review; and Visions International.

Two of his ekphrastic poems appear in Silent Waters, photographs by George Digalakis (Athens, 2017). He is the author of two chapbooks, Standing Inside the Web (Bear House Publishing, 1990) and Fire and Shadows (Legal Studies Forum, 2008). His poems “Black Dogs” and “Viewing the Dead” were nominated for Pushcart Prizes.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Out of the Haze, collaborative haiga with photograph by George Digalakis and poem by Gary S. Rosin in MacQueen’s Quinterly (Issue 8, June 2021); nominated for, and selected for publication in, Contemporary Haibun 17 (Red Moon Press, 2022)

⚡ Featured Poet: Gary S. Rosin in MacQueen’s Quinterly (Issue 7, March 2021)

⚡ Crossing Kansas in The Wild Word (7 February 2020); includes audio of Rosin reading his poem

⚡ Two Readings: “Apparition” and “Black Dogs” by Gary S. Rosin for Texas Poetry Calendar 2015 at the Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas (20 September 2014).

See also Black Dogs here in MacQ (Issue 12, March 2022), which was nominated in October 2022 by MacQ for the 48th annual Pushcart Prize (2024 edition).