I spent eight months on the floor with treats in my fist
Teaching moves to carry that velvet box in his teeth
Every night after you fell asleep I'd whisper,
go give it to mama
And you'd try down the hall
You'd wake up laughing, ring box on the pillow
Kiss his head,
kiss my mouth,
say you're both ridiculous
I thought if he asked you enough times
One morning you'd finally say yes
You'd pack on a Tuesday while I was at work
Left the ring on the table,
took the dog in the bed
I gave him only one ball, one leash, one silence
And a note that said he deserves a yard
Like I was a thing too small to keep
Now I'm watching late night TV
With the sound off
And there's moves on the screen Older
grayer in the muzzle carrying a ring
Box across a football field Fifty thousand people screaming while he
drops it at her feet She says yes,
cameras flash,
confetti falls
He gets a stake in a belly rub
From a man who isn't me
Good boy, you finally delivered
Just not to the right girl
I wonder if you still call him most
Or if he answers to something new
I wonder if he hesitates for half a second
When your new guy says go give it to mama
Does he remember the apartment with the creaky floor
Where he learned love tasted like peanut butter and pastry
I never taught him how to come home I only taught him how to leave me
And he learned it perfect
They replay the clip every Valentine's
Most romantic proposal of the year
I'm muted but I still hear the crowd I
still see his tail wag like nothing ever
hurt
He drops a ring,
licks the new guy's face
While I sit here with the same empty hand They used to hold the tree
That taught him how to ruin me forever