Childhood Dogs

Piece description from the artist

Childhood Dogs
. . . after a painting by Kathleen A. Fox

when you think about your childhood dogs
it’s always morning

grownups talk and drink their coffee
you smell the trees and sea

your face, your arms, your fingers, your whole
little squiggly body presses on your dog’s warm fur

your dog never minds, not even when
you pretend he is a princess or a horse

this is where you learn unconditional love
this is where you learn to speak without words

this is where you feel safe, also where you feel
you can conquer the whole world before lunch

if you were Hawaiian, your dog or ilio would be
your aumakua: family god – personal guardian

and spiritual advisor, who may visit you in dreams
you will always remember your dogs’ names

they say dogs bond with us like babies in a loop
of love and oxytocin, eyes first then melting hearts

the pope says we will meet our pets in heaven, if
we make it there also, which is no surprise to you

imagine all your childhood dogs suddenly appearing
in a pack over a white rise, tongues wagging, eyes joy

racing to you, jumping up, knocking you down, dog kiss city –
mass reunion, years and distance smashed like a dropped glass

this would not work as well with all your former cats, or lovers
childhood dogs taught you nobility, courage, class

sometimes at night you recite their names over and over
like beads on a rosary, or meditation beads, counting on them

still
Sherry Barker Abaldo