A Dog's Job

To be a dog.
To awaken each morning
With a smile on my mouth,
And begin my new favorite day.
 
To find fresh messages in the grass and on the trees,
And leave my replies in kind.
To greet each stranger knowing
He will be my next best friend.
 
To know, really know
That if at this moment
The walk I want is not ready to happen,
It will soon. My owner told me!
 
I will walk and I will run,
And root my nose under bushes and logs,
Because it’s today, and
I am a dog.
 
To be a dog is to run with abandon,
A stick in my mouth just because
I am outside, and sticks are outside toys
My master told me this, too.
 
I’ll roll in the dewy grass, and
Listen to the birds sing good morning,
And the butterflies and bugs flit and buzz.
When I catch one, its tastes like I’m on a wild adventure.  
 
To be a dog is to do just what I want to do.
To never notice that I look strange
With a five-foot stick in my mouth.
To not care what I look like.
 
I’ll roll over and over in the muddy turf
At seven in the morning.
The cat will give me her aloof look
That says I’m insane. 
 
But I don’t care.
I’m a dog.
Reckless play is part of my work.
Cat’s just jealous that she doesn’t have a job.
 
I never worry about the musts I must do.
That I must wait for my humans.
That I must wait for a full food dish.
That I must wear soap and take a bath.
 
I’m a dog.
I know there is another tomorrow
For walks and sticks and smells,
Waiting for me beyond that window.
 
~Dedicated to my best friends,
Woody, Sadie and Teak (sorry, Sadie wouldn't pose for this photo op)