Thursday, June 9, 2011

A Big Black Dog



for the Poets United prompt: Animals. Of course,
you know  the first animal who came to my mind.

He was
a little black puppy
who turned into
a big black dog.

He howled like a wolf
each morning
when I left for work,
spat the treat I gave him
as a bribe
disdainfully on the floor,
with a look of utter betrayal,
that I was leaving.
He was over joyed
each afternoon
when I came home again.
Now, he would
deign
to eat the treat,
still lying
on the floor.

Celebration time!

Into the car
and off to the beach we'd go,
him galloping
far ahead,
leaping over logs,
sniffing the tideline,
falling over his
big puppy feet.

When I sat on a log,
he'd start to dig,
throwing sand behind him
till he had a
cool little bowl
to curl up in.

When I had
a gentleman caller,
he'd steal a pair
of my underpants
from the bedroom
and gambole
gleefully
with them
through
the living room ,
me in hot and flushed
pursuit.

When we went
to the lake,
he stole
a long trailing
ribbon of weiners
from a family having a picnic
and skulked away with them,
guilty but determined,
into the woods.

He chewed up
my eagle feather,
and buried his
pig ears
in my potted plants.
When I told him No,
he buried them
in the BACK of the plants,
where it was harder
for me to see.

He lifted off the
pillows I used to
keep him off
my new couch,
tossed them on the floor,
then napped
luxuriously 
on his back
with his paws in the air,
all askew.

He was a handful.

When we drove anywhere,
for fourteen years,
he barked at me non-stop:
Hurry up, let's get there!
People driving behind us
told me
it looked hilarious,
me driving the car,
turning my head
to admonish him,
his big old jaws,
turned towards me:
bark, bark, bark!

He loved to race
ahead,
along the beach
and down the forest trails.
But he always knew
just where I was
and he'd circle back to check
on me.
He wouldnt come
when I called.
He'd return
when he was ready.

He led me
a merry chase.
It was clear
that I was the one
on the end of the leash!

He dragged me
around
for years,
me pleading fruitlessly,
"Dont pull me!"

It took him fourteen years
to mellow.

But he dogged
my every step.
His eyes
followed me
everywhere.
I was his world,
and he was mine,
one creature in this world
who loved me
unconditionally,
with a true heart,
who didnt leave,
who never
turned away.
One creature
for whom
I was
Enough.

Though his body
began to fail
and his pace slowed,
his wolfish spirit
remained strong,
completely wild
and free.

He embodied
the wild,
and shared
my love of
the sea.

And
I never knew
how lonely
walking could be,
till he was no longer
walking along
with me.


22 comments:

  1. A damn fine Dog. My dog would have eaten the cookie.

    Here is a link to my canine lament...beware there is some colourful language.

    http://olsonomics.blogspot.com/2009/03/kicking-down-old-dirty-traila-ramble.html

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  2. Beautiful tribute... and such a dog! We are fortunate at times to share our lives with such faithful and playful companions. the last line rings truest.

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  3. Aww... so sad. A wonderful tribute to a faithful companion.

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  4. Love in every line, Sherry.

    Elizabeth

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  5. Well, you've got me in tears here. Oh how I do love those canine family members so much and I wished I did not have to get to the part of your poem when he was no longer there!

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  6. Gosh , this was good. Really heartfelt. Wish i knew him. Vb

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  7. Such a love ... it is inexplicable ... it is beautiful, you describe it so very well. As lonely as it is, you know that his spirit is next to you at all times.

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  8. they are such special spirits our dogs, like no one else

    happy remembering

    Best Wishes, Isabel

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  9. I'm not a dog lover but I found this very moving. The part about not knowing what a walk was floored me.

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  10. four legged people make a big impact dont they

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  11. A beautiful memory journey of your beloved friend, Sherry!

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  12. What a dog. This is wonderful. I feel like I knew him too. What a wonderful friend to have.

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  13. Oh my gosh. I laughed, I cried. What a beautiful friend you had.

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  14. There really is no one who accepts us as unconditionally as the dogs we love. I think they must be angels in disguise, lent to us briefly on earth until it's time to go back to heaven.

    Lucky us...:)

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  15. This is a lovely tribute to a fine friend.

    Anna :o]

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  16. Godspeed Goof, on to better galaxies....

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  17. There is nothing like the spirit of the furry, four legged kind to tug on one's heart and sit near their soul~ Beautiful~xXx

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