Geriatric Dog - Oct 16 2022

 

Geriatric Dog

Oct 16 2022

My geriatric dog

who has lived beyond any reasonable expectation

is showing her age;

the grizzled chin greyer

rheumy eyes duller

thinning coat coarser.

She sleeps more,

her gait has slowed,

obedience comes and goes;

which I suspect is bad hearing,

but could very well

be her usual wilful self.

But most alarming

is how her muscle is wasting.

So what was once sturdy and cuddly

is now all skin and bone.

In our extended time together

I have aged as well

if not as fast.

But resist those loaded words —

senior

elderly

geriatric.

And hate the prospect

that I, too

may soon lose muscle mass,

turn into the frail old man

I watched my father become.

Not to mention

get even more contrarian

than I already am.

Sadly, this older version of me

is already more impatient

jaded

judgmental

than my younger self.

While the old Lab

who may be smaller and weaker

has become milder and sweeter

with the same big heart.

And still, despite the wasting

uncannily strong.

I've always envied

the character of dogs.

Have thought the highest compliment

would be to be considered an honorary Lab.

And now, she humbles more more;

the grace

with which she ages,

the innate dignity

and inner beauty

that persist,

superficial changes or not.

So while I am quickly becoming

a cantankerous old man,

she is as much the puppy

she always was.

Who hasn't a mean bone

in her body.

And who, no matter what

knows how to give and receive love

with the unaffected ease

people like me find hard,

but comes so naturally

to small children

and good dogs.