Heavy the Head ...

June 10 2020

She was 7

when the puppy entered our lives.

I admired the good nature

of the older dog,

standing there forbearingly

when the little dog would nip

at the loose fur around her neck,

clamber up her legs

like a toddler climbing monkey bars.

Now, 4 years later

they are best buddies

despite the difference in age;

as if an old man

were chumming around

with someone 50 years younger.

They say dogs live in the moment.

So do they remember when they met?

Do they understand getting bigger

growing older

and how the big girl has slowed,

while her counterpart is stronger, faster

sure of herself?

And will the young one mourn

and for how long will she remember

when on a day like any other

her friend disappears

never to return?

We strive and learn

no matter how old we get.

While the knowledge of death

hovers over us,

informing how we live

shadowing our lives.

But dogs are content

to sit, stay, roll over.

Satisfied

with a ball to chase

and the same dry kibble

day after day,

hoovering it up

like famished waifs.

Puppy eyes imploring us

that however much

it's never enough

and please give us more.

So except for the lost step

and the sprinkle of grey

around the old dog's muzzle

the two best buddies have converged,

where they will remain

as if the world were made this way

and will always be thus.

Which, today

is snoozing in a patch of sun

as it transits the floor.

Groggily levering up

every once in a while

and shuffling sluggishly after it,

then slumping heavily back

in its soporific warmth.

Like world weary travellers

grateful for rest.

Two sleeping dogs

taking comfort in each other.

The older one

emitting strangled yelps,

legs twitching

tail thumping

dreaming of the hunt.

While the heavy head

of the younger dog

rests on her haunches.

Trusting

oblivious

she sleeps the sleep of the innocent

and dreams of kibble to come.

These pictures were taken when Rufus (the younger one) wasn't yet full grown. Now, as the poem says, she is bigger and faster. But I couldn't resist these. They may not be on the floor and may not be following a patch of sun, but they are still beautiful, and the photo still captures Rufus' and Skookum's enviable relationship.

I also couldn't resist the irony of the title: “heavy the head ...that wears the crown”. As if they possessed even a tiny bit of either responsibility or angst!