i rub the ears of my dog , my stupid goddam ruddy great dog that i never wanted but who hung around anyway and who followed me thru the swamp and who bit aaron when he was trying to choke me and who found viola when she was lost and who 's licking my hand with his little pink tongue and whose eye is still mostly squinted shut from where mr prentiss jr kicked him and whose tail is way way shorter from when matthew lyle cut it off when my dog - my dog - went after a man with a machete to save me and who 's right there when i need pulling back from the darkness i fall into and who tells me who i am whenever i forget .