For This Day
She tries to catch the crescent
moon in her teeth, this bird
dog crazy red girl, snapping
at air and wind. The geese come
suddenly, while she's in the midst
of her moon chasing scheme
and throw her off for a moment,
ears perk and front paw lifts--
the expected of her breed.
I watch her as I walk past
headstones and mud puddles,
smile in spite of myself, lift
my own front leg in momentary
abandon of reason. I want to be one
with this world as she is, this red
beauty who wrecks my house,
who knocks my friends down,
who readily forgives. I want to love
that freely, want to want that openly,
want to forget being human
for a day. I want to jump in the middle
of the muck right with her,
drink from the dirty water, smell
woodsy and whole. The moon comes
up full as we leave the cemetery, her fur
matted and wet, my t-shirt drenched
in sweat. We have lived for those few
moments, have accepted one another,
have balanced ourselves in the chilly
autumn air, and for this day, it is enough.
4 comments:
In my next life, I want to be a dog.
I want to love that freely and want that openly, just like your poem says.
Mostly, I want to be that at one with with the world.
What a wonderful dog poem. What a wonderful human poem.
I hear it ending on "enough." Sonically, I mean. Might you consider flipping the last two phrases?
"and for this day it is enough."
Gee, it isn't titled. I might call it Enough. Or, Whole.
Reading this poem makes me want a dog. Not a puppy. A dog.
terrific read, maggie. loved it. made me want to take these gimpy knees out there and try to keep up with my own critters, but they know better. still, they know i'll be there, lagging behind as usual, but doing his best to lift his front leg too now and then. or is it the back leg? i forget.
agree w/laurel on enough.
I like the suggestion for flipping...it does sound better ending on enough...it is titled
For This Day
but I'm not sold on that title...
glad you both stopped by...and, jim, Molly has to wait on me too...I don't move as fast as she does, nor as fast as I once did!
I'm posting a picture of an Irish Setter pointing...looks just like Molly when she points...I just haven't captured a picture of her doing it yet because I'm usually holding her leash, or getting tangled up in her leash, or getting knocked down, or having my arm pulled out of the socket...
*sigh*
and Laurel, yes, I agree a dog would be the way to go--not a puppy unless you want endless messes and chewed up stuff and housebreaking duties and all that stuff one doesn't have to do with cats...I got a pup because I thought the cats would make the adjustment easier to something close to their size (Molly was 13 pounds when I brought her home), but I was wrong! Dante still hates her and Oreo is afraid of her...she's about 75 pounds now...
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