Before the Dog

Mornings under the winter
Triangle before sunrise,
The whole, arcuate collage

From Sirius through Saiph
And up to Aldebaran,
Procyon notched and pulled back—

In one sense, the universe
Nothing to do with this Earth,
And in another, the fun

Of pure, projective naming
On display. Before the dog,
Procyon, for a bright star,

The same name used formally
For the distant relative
Of ring-tailed cats, loosely bears

As well, known from Algonquin
As a raccoon, one right now,
Trundling along this wayside

Under the dawn’s fading stars,
Having used its hands all night,
To remind humans humans

Aren’t the only clever ones
With nimble fingers, that name
Washes its hands of the rest.