We lay in each other’s arms – or, rather – my human arms weave through his perfect doggy legs, tenderly as we rest -
After a run and after a fun day of playing ball in the tall-bladed meadows that appear endless
as they stretch in front of our lives –
The omnipresent illustrator draws us with colored pencils and with appropriate shadowing –
The visual explosions of love and experience
– and commitment between man & dog –
It requires precision and an attention to detail to capture it accurately
We lay together, as it is the last day of Autumn
His favorite ball is my favorite ball –
Fetch is a game that does not end until I become too tired to throw the ball –
until recently –
He’ll wag his tail excitedly through the lilies, the chrysanthemums, and the orchids –
until he finds it necessary to give the ball a rest
… His breathing is becoming labored – and I know what this means
His head, then, rests peacefully upon my leg as we sit on our porch and watch the sun set behind the pulchritudinous mountains –
It is setting beautifully – the yellows and the oranges bleed into the moments -delicately extinguishing the piercing blues of daytime
We watch the sunset together
The fireflies dance magnificently this evening –
their brief and electric lights eclipse the shadows of the bushes, and the trees, and the low-hanging air that surrounds us –
Their playfulness brings the visual entertainment –
As my dog and I listen to the elegantly predictable symphony of the cicadas –
They vibrate their muscles – playing their instruments - for us as we watch the fireflies dance
Together, we watch the fireflies and listen to the cicadas
And, everything is as it should be
____
Inside – the wall clock falls upon the wooden floor beneath -
We don’t see it
We don’t hear it
We don’t know it fell
Because we are not listening for it to fall
The almond blossoms are withering, and I pay them no mind
____
His white face and increasing arthritis tells me his time is limited
My white hair and wrinkling skin tells me I am no different
Together we live, and we love, and we play, and we lay woven in each other’s arms and perfect doggy legs – and we breathe –
until the day we no longer do
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