Ruby Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday…

Black poodle galloping over white virgin snow
as sleek as winter coal
all aglow with the raw heat
of a nearby star that loves life so much
it won’t let go

And all you ask of me is
my daily loyalty
the weathering of Port Meadow’s elemental skies
and
(most importantly of all)
that I pick up and throw
your slobber-saturated ball
again and again and again and again
my four-legged friend without end
to the eagerness in your eyes
and the keenness of your snout
which snorts and snorts both earth and air
for dog-opera-gossip and freshly-pissed-news
like a whale sifts for plankton
like a poet sniffs his muse

And in return
you offer me this daily invitation:
That I ease into the slipstream of your animal joy
and learn to whisper...
This is as good as it gets, my boy
This is as good as it gets