your voice used to sing

clear as a whistle

putting those two consonants together

calling me

 

those two letters

your pet name for me

 

I always wanted to be by your side

so I tried to prove myself to you

digging up treasures and placing them in your hands

obeying your every command

 

just to hear you say those two letters

your pet name for me

 

but while you held a treat in your hand

and stroked my head with the affection I craved

you slipped a collar around my neck

the hook of the leash jingling against the silver name tag

 

engraved with those two letters

your pet name for me

 

I didn’t realize

until the day I wanted to run away

escape the circumstances that made me howl

that the leash left me entangled in your hands

 

I was trapped in those two letters

your pet name for me

 

after five years of being told to stay

I will no longer be woman’s best friend

fetching the bullshit you threw at me

running to answer your call

 

of those two letters

your pet name for me