To The Collector of Taxes, City and County
of San Francisco
No, there is no dog, terrier, male, dog's name Pedro
at this address. Pedro is in San Anselmo.
So I do not owe you the $4.00 license fee
(raised by the Supervisors to $5.00) I wish I did.
Is the point of being a poet to clean your plate,
use up things, make every loss valuable?
And when the last loss has been made valuable
disappear like night into the crouching wood?
I like you because you are such a plain image. You seem to say
if I pay my tax there is something I can own
for another year. There's nothing. There's no dog.
But thank you for even suggesting that there is.
- William Dickey