Things That Orbit a Very Old Dog 1. The sun, which has agreed to stay. 2. The smell of fat on coals. 3. A crown made Tuesday, worn sideways by Saturday. 4. One laugh arriving before its cause. 5. A younger dog who has not yet learned the difference between the party and himself. 6. Tongs. The authority of tongs. 7. Bottles that clink in the key of not-yet-evening. 8. Grass still holding heat like a secret. 9. Arms mid-gesture, caught between the meaning and the end of meaning. 10. The silver of a muzzle, which is just time made visible. 11. Everything else.