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.
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