The Joy They Spark - May 19 2023

 

The Joy They Spark

May 19 2023

The joy they spark

in strangers.

Even the bandy-legged man

who reeked of booze

and staggered more than walked

when we passed him in the park.

He was already smiling

in that happily drunken daze

of the all-day alcoholic

as he reached for the dogs

when they ran up to greet him,

tails manically wagging

so their cute little butts

waggled back and forth.

As they do to all who cross our path,

putting smiles on peoples' faces

with their contagious joy.

I flinched,

seeing that unclean hand

that stunk of who-knows-what

reaching shakily out,

but resisted calling them off.

My loving dogs

who never judge

stint

withhold;

who shame me

with their eager friendliness.

A fellow lover of dogs, after all.

And a damaged man

who, like most of us

just seeks a little comfort.

And I very much know

what the touch of a dog can do,

because they also rescued me

from my own unhappy state

in the dark days before.

We all choose

our own means of escape.

Cheap rum for him;

for me, isolation.

So it pleases me the share

with strangers.

The children

who are tentative at first,

but see eye-to-eye with dogs

and have that special bond.

The old lady, leaning on her cane,

who years ago

lost hers

and never got over it.

And even the drunks and vagrants,

who find acceptance

in my girls' warm welcoming touch.

The love

they thought they might find in a bottle,

but haven't, so far.