Blessed Be the Dog That Takes You for a Fall Walk
/ Rebecca AirmetBy Marcia Appel — Last Updated: October 11, 2024
No amount of pleading on my part
Stopped your brown eyes from begging on your part.
So, jeans pulled over striped cotton pajama bottoms
And downy jacket enfolding my hunched shoulders,
We stepped out into the predawn chill.
The leash, slipped lightly over my wrist and linked
Tightly to your collar,
Drew us mystically together,
The yin/yang obvious to passersby -
You pulling, me dragging.
Three blocks into the woods,
You stopped at a thicket of evergreens,
Pushed your spotted nose into the branches,
And then looked back
As if to say, “Why not you, too?”
I stopped resisting you then.
My face leaned full into the misty, fragrant spruce,
Encircled by golden pampas grass,
Where loamy autumn smells flowed over me
With the hint of Christmas yet to come adding zest.
You leaned companionably against my legs then,
Reminding me, once again,
Of the simple joys you give each day.
