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Sounds like a dog(s)-led recovery for you each morning, Max. Dogs - and outside- put world news into perspective. Bill On Thursday, 22 September 2016, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dogs’ Breakfast > > Mustering what strength lingers > at this extremity of age, > I clench and sit up, fingers > reach down for outdoor footwear > (velcro for quick fastening) > then bedside for spectacles. > > Yes, you two dogs, I’m hastening - > with you ahead - downstairs; > your meal of the day, whether > winter’s dark or summer’s early dawn, > must not be postponed further. > > The old boy lurches to his bowl, > shut behind the bathroom door; > the rambunctious girl Labrador > starts fast on hers lest he steal from > her hungry fellow-breakfaster. > > She’s ready first to take the leash > awaiting her at the front door. > I’m already in jacket and cap - > one hides pajamas, one bad hair. > > Trot to the elevator, trot hot- > foot through the lobby, trot > hot-foot through the tall metal > gates that clang behind us. > > Already we’re on the green verge: > here, an hour before, sprinklers > rinsed and kept it green, and > the line of dogwood trees stand > in dignity and fruitfulness. > Snaffle a fallen berry, must you? > > Dogwood by definition can’t > be poisonous, I guess. Back > to the lobby and lift, quick - > upstairs Senior waits his turn. > Changing of the guard, transferring > of the leash. Repetition. > > May we now relax? The blackest > crows of Bellevue Avenue East > resume their search for breakfast, hop > back down from tree and car top. > > Sunday breakfast glumly ensues. > What says the online world of news? > Natural and manmade disasters > compete, history rebukes, futures > are dire. At this extremity of time > man and dogs share a lucky home. > > Capitol Hill, Seattle, November 2016