The dog sits up;
she needs no sound
to hear you come;
she is tuned to your footsteps
and to the door she runs;
Nothing; only echoes,
I avoid her expectant eyes;
ashamed of myself
to stoop so low
as to tell my dog a lie.
“It must have been the wind”;
“A leaf against the window”,
she turns; she looks
and wags her tail
as if this will ease my sorrow.
She knows I know
that you lay on a foreign shore;
I know she knows
it wasn’t your footsteps
outside the windswept door.
again she turns; again she looks
as she skulks into the other room,
she brings to me
her favourite ball
and for one second
I forget you.
© Copyright D. Archer October 2011
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I like this one very much. I enjoy how you use the dog to convey your sentiments and to get the picture across. My favorite is the idea of the dog “being tuned to (her) footsteps.” That is such an accurate depiction of how animals so often act, and it is stated in such a poetic way. Very nice to read!
You should definitely keep posting too, my friend. 🙂
Thank you for rummaging around my sub-conscience. Glad you liked this poem, I talk a lot to my dog on walks in the park. She is a very good listener.
Dave
Dogs are very great listeners and snugglers and kissers. They can turn your world upside right when things are downlow…this is a beautiful poem and can relate to your dog, as well as you. I hate seeing my dogs dissapointment it’s heartbreaking.
This poem…I come back to read, again and again, like a freaking stalker…because it makes me so sad….for you, for your dog…and even for me.