Dog Smiling

we stopped
under the shade
of a highway tree
to fill the hollows
of our bellies,
rumbling louder
with every passing car;
and then I saw you
lying listless
in the searing heat,
with a half smile
on your face, and
the pale white
of your stained skin
glowing like the presence
of a Zen monk
in meditation;
I found a discarded
palm-leaf plate
and heaped it with
fresh curd rice
from the cold steel box
of an entangled urban world,
where nothing was or came free;
and as if to feed my empty heart,
you raised yourself slowly
from the scorching earth
to take your share;
and then walked away,
blessing me
with a smile
that drew me
into your heart,
now beating
as mine.