I am much
Like a dog
I enjoy being
Teased and played
With petted and
Called patted and
Reassured invited onto
The couch bathed
And preened and
Fed and like
A dog I
Enjoy being by
Your side on
Wooden trails in
Snow and rainy
Afternoons but what
I like most
Is simply this
The one that
You turn to
For comfort when
You are sad
That’s my place
Next to your
Warm hearts hearth
Like the spring
Came to winter
The thaw began
And warmed everything
That turned cold
Life began again
With one door
And one smile
Followed by rains
Of conversation and
Laughter and cajoling
And I bloomed
Yet once again
What pulls me
Forward is the
Same thing that
Keeps me back
Trying to find
Those same things
That I’ve lost
In the past
And hoping to
Find them now
I did something
I must have
Or maybe what
I didn’t do
Is what happened
But still when
I hear the
Squeaky hinges of
Your door sound
I perk up
Like a dog
Hoping that you
Will open my
Door and smile
You never do
Anymore and yet
I wait with
Head on paws
Hoping one day
You will again
Open my door
And finally smile
I’ve been asked
What’s a friend
How do you
Know who is
Or even which
One could be
A friend is
A favorite book
That you’ve read
A dozen times
That you quote
In troubling times
That book that
Somehow is always
Reached for or
Lands in your
Lap or bed
Those characters and
Those stories and
Those adventures that
Make you believe
There is something
More than you
They’re the last
Person that you
Think about as
You fall asleep
Dreaming of them
