Unacknowledged Guest
Lots of empty spaces on those platters.
Looks like everyone just couldn’t get enough
of my fried chicken Bolognese fricassee
served over almandine green peppers
in a white sauce
I made myself, not from a jar.
Yum, I say.
Yum, the dog says.
Get out from under the table
I say.
Once I’m sure dinner is over
the dog says.
1/11/18
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
We had one dog, when I was a wee girl, who was terrible for pinching food from plates. I remember one of my brothers doing a Keystone Cops style routine running around the house trying to get a lamb chop back from the dog. One of my cats absolutely loves curry and begs to be fed some. I confess I do sometimes give him some.
We hada cat who loved creamed spinach…and out childhood dog one time stole a steak right off the grill (which was a tiny one at ground level so she could reach it) and I think burned her mouth as she ran off yelping…with the steak in her teeth…
My mother had a dog like that. We would slip her the food we didn’t like–she would eat anything. (K)
We had one dog through my childhood. She lived to be 19, was poorly behaved, and only liked my dad because he fed her under the table at dinner. And then there was that steak stealing incident. She was greedy all right.