Lake Log
She says: 'do take
the dog round the lake
today and every day -
you both need the walk.'
But - waning energy -
each time, round-and-back
seems to stretch further,
slower for sure.
That yacht race comes to mind -
one chappie, rather than
circumnavigate
in his rivals' wake,
paused in the Atlantic
and rested up, planning
in due course to sail in
home saying: Made it! Did I win?
(Though he didn't make it,
did he? - vanished - lost -
eliminated some other way,
disembodied, departed.)
So now here we are back,
darling - we made it, panting
a little, tail-wagging.
Don't we look exercised?
And here's my round-the-lake poem -
'The daylight moon's image resting
shiverily on the lake
is shattered by the duck's wake
then re-steadies, recomposed.
The moon above
eyes us all off.
He knows about waning -
but waxing too,
something now beyond me and you.'
She may say: 'I'm reading it as your
got-to-the-lake poem,
registered as you turned back
with something logged,
and your lagging steps dogged
by a half-exercised dog!
But at least you did exercise
your eyes, stirred up your
language brain a bit,
and now your typing skills.'
If I could trust the dog
off-leash, I'd find a bench,
sprawl for the duration,
and call him back
when he'd exercised enough.
But he'd only sight some other
free dog and race off to pounce,
bounce, get in trouble,
plunge maybe in the lake
in the wake of some water-bird,
risking who knows what infection?
and bothered should he overtake
the hunted creature in retreat?
Lose it, pup! that imagined victim.
Heel. Retriever you may be,
but relieved of duty.
So many ways of losing,
much to lose, including life.
My hope when the dark waters
close finally over me,
is to be back home in bed
without pain, attended
by some loved ones, with maybe
a dog or two, wagging it.
I bequeath you all the lake,
the moon - yours already -
many happy reflections,
illumination,
soon-resumed composure,
waxing lyrical
before the departure,
the elimination.
Max Richards
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