Emotional Support Animals 

This dang ape does nothing 
but watch loud cartoons. 
No longer can I woo him 
to comb the knotted hair 
of the pony I’d rescued 
to entertain the cockatoo 
who’d become depressed 
following the death 
of the bearded dragon 
constricted by the python 
bought to cull the rabbits. 
All the neighbours in 
apartments close to mine 
are furious. I hear them 
through the walls. I miss 
you. Please, pick up. 

Michael Naghten Shanks is a poet from Dublin, Ireland. He is author of the pamphlets Year of the Ingénue and The Architecture of Red Caviar Sandwiches. Twice shortlisted for Poem of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, he has had multiple poems longlisted for the National Poetry Competition and The London Magazine Poetry Prize. He was highly commended for the Listowel Writers’ Week Poetry Collection Award. He is the recipient of Arts Council Literature Bursary and Agility awards.