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Ivan Pavlov’s girlfriend objected to the bell
that he hung above the bedpost. It was hell
the night when they indulged in heavy petting
and he took her literally. Much too upsetting
was the time he went to feed the Red Setters
and left her ages hanging in exotic, leather fetters.
Eventually his experiments became too much:
the lead, the collar, fetching sticks. But the final touch
came when he, at the zenith of his powers,
expected her on all fours to imitate the Chihuahua.
It ended when she said she wanted babies.
He growled and left her with a dose of rabies.

© Anne Lovejoy, October 2009