Why Your Robot Dog Has Been Recalcitrant

You feed him too many nuts and bolts,
not enough rivets.

You scolded him for killing the Doberman
who lived next door.

You ignore him most of the time
and then expect mutual joyous affection
at the oddest and most inopportune moments.

He has read far too much Sartre.

You can't find the instruction booklet and
the lights blinking suddenly and insistently
on his chest mean nothing to you whatsoever.

He's never been the same since he lost
his tail in the mower.

He's been talking with the robot cat.