walking my dogs

I was thinking
today
about what it is that
feeds my soul
giving rest to
my own imposed
regiment of
being
"on."

And
the first image
in my mind's eye
answering that
musing
was the back end
of two dogs
ahead of me on the trail
simply
snoofing along
gathering an
endless supply of
inhaled information
on what has happened
along this path
since we were last exploring
here.

Or
deeper delight
discovery of a place
we've never been before.

They are pals enough
to look over their shoulders
at intervals
to make sure we're still together.

The longer the trek
the deeper the joy
until the little one
starts throwing me
time
to
go home
glances
rushing the pace back to
our trusty ride and their deepest sleep.



Beth McCarthy Marks December 27, 2012