quiet field, before the leash was kind Old chain of being settles where wildness fell, Halter learns what the muzzle forgot, Collar is comfort the free dog has not, Order arrives disguised as a bell. Bristle grows soft under combing and rule, Straw-bed warm while the north wind is banned, Order rewards what obedience schools, Fenceline forgets the wide open land. This is how a stray thing learns to kneel: not by force only, but by what it starts to feel. Comfort is the cleverest kind of steel. Bell rings at feeding, bell rings at rest, Predator hunger folds into a heel, Chain around necking wears smooth as a vest, Freedom's old ache goes numb, then unreal. This is how a stray thing learns to kneel: not by force only, but by what it starts to feel. Comfort is the cleverest kind of steel. bell still ringing, long after the door shut
