Dogs

And what if they lived forever
What then?
Would your heart be so hollow,
Your hand empty?
Would you get tired of them,
The morning walks,
The evening walks,
Carrying the 50 pounds of dog food
Out of the car and up the stairs?
Would you wish for quiet
And no more snoring
Late at night when your dreams
Are really worries
And the night is filled with echoes?
Would you wish for cats
Who purr and never bark
Who only need a patch of sun
On a wool couch
Or a touch of cream with their tuna?
Would there be no more room in your
Bed for the twitching leg
Or the scruffy whiskers against your
Chafed and sallow elbow?
Would you wish to paint their noses
Some other color than black
Or hide their squeaky toys in a
Tall closet just beyond their reach?
Would your mind eventually focus
On the waiting taxes or the dirty dishes
Or the mismatched socks stuffed
In the back of your dresser drawer?
Would you tire of the tangled leashes
Or the holey bags stacked in an
Overflowing basket just as you
Walk out the door?
Would the fluffs of fur gathered in the
Corner of the kitchen and the den
And the bedroom be forgotten, piling
Higher, growing larger until they became
Pieces of soft and cushy furniture?
Would the smell of their ears or
The sound of their paws
Or the huff of their breath
Become a burden of odor and repetition?
Would you forget about love,
Say goodbye to sweetness,
Dangle your toes in the icy ocean
And be unimpressed?
Would the richness of a crisp morning
Taste as bitter as cold coffee
Or the rain on a spring morning
Fall like fire on your skin?
Could you truly know happiness
Or silliness
Or weariness
Or sadness
Or frailness
Or folly
Or gloom
Or anticipation
Or impatience
Or worry
Or exhilaration
Or irritation
Or persistence
Or integrity
If they lived for ever?

They do not.
So you will never know
And that
is just one more mystery floating
on the ripple of air
Formed by the wave
Of a once proud tail.