Down and Back
Down into Ruffey Lake Park
my love and I take walks,
he a golden Labrador,
me a grey-haired pensioner.
Alert for encounters,
we scan the path ahead of us,
I for acquaintances,
he for excitements -
dogs he can greet wagging,
then, from almost hugging,
shift into 'I'm boss' mode
and 'dominate, dominate!'.
Small dogs submit,
larger ones object.
Is it to protect me that he crouches
and lurches pouncing?
I keep tight rein
on my mischievous friend.
Dogs aside, he sticks by me,
quietly greeting humanity's
representatives, they
with whom I pass the time of day,
note weather portents in the sky,
the rare snake-sighting,
bad news from around the world -
conflicts' endlessness,
the well-meaning and their -
our - powerlessness.
Returning from the park
exercised by our walk,
refreshed by encounters
whether light or dark,
we've kept it all decent,
protected and complacent.
Max Richards
Doncaster, Vic.
|