She stands with her front paws on the granite countertop,
her nose scanning for food.
Not a scent to be sniffed, she tips
over a glass that shatters on the wooden kitchen floor.

***

She sneaks up to my bedroom, destroying my garbage can in search of food,
leaving me a messy trail to clean.
Over winter break, she devoured my Christmas goodies:
one pound of the world’s largest Reese’s peanut butter cups, a bag of Hershey’s kisses, and the wrappers too.

***

My childhood dream of a pet horse came true . . . or close
in a 65-pound chocolate labrador.
I wanted to name her Sonador . . . the name of a horse in my favorite movie,
however, three syllables was one too many for the amount of trouble she caused.

***

My Christmas present ate my Christmas present—
more trouble than thrill.
At least my shoes are still in pairs of twos,
and for that, I thank mischievous Ruby.