Teddy's Way

There’s a field near my apartment. I’m not sure what it’s for or who owns it. Never seen anyone using it for whatever its intended purpose. There’s a shed in the corner and on occasion, a landscaping crew shows up to mow it. Not as often these days. What was grass is dried straw. Fault lines streaking across the dirt. The sign on the gate says no dogs allowed. Just beyond the gate, any evening you pass by, you’ll see a dog or two. I’d been here a few weeks before I saw the gap in the fence and realized these weren’t the owners of the field. Just neighbors looking for a place to exercise their dogs.