My poem, Retirement

Retirement

When I retired,
I resisted rejoicing in more
than one dog.

Today, at dawn,
two dogs
call me to task;
call me to my lessons.

I wipe out their bowls
pouring a measure of food
under their direction.
Listening to them
crunch the hard bits
is delicious.

After eating
they move to the water bucket.
The sound as they lap the water;
seeing it drip from their muzzles
makes me smile,
lean in
to hear more closely.

If they had feathers they wouldn’t be more magical.

-- Published in April, 2015 anthology, by Rainshadow Poetry, Sequim