Melody of Mating

Dim streetlamps light the barside street, 
Wet pavement fills the air,
A drunk, alone and incomplete
Has struck out with a mare.

His father tells him, "Cheer up son,
There's plenty in the sea,"
While mother says "You'll find someone!
And have a kid—or three!"

But when a Tod comes stumbling by,
And bums a cigarette,
The drunk can't seem to say goodbye,
His appetite now whet.

The door slams shut, their muzzles meet,
Paws down the fronts of jeans,
As shirts come off, they find the sheets,
He knows just what this means.

The morning next, the Tod is gone,
The drunk's a drunk no more,
He mopes—then finds a note, "From Shawn—
Another round at four?"

-Charles Michael Averin