I thought I’d try to teach my dog to count
Instead, she tried to teach me not to count.
I thought I’d teach my dog to think ahead.
She taught me not to think ahead, instead.
I tried to show avoiding mud is cool.
She schooled me on the joys of dripping drool.
She’ll gobble down her own food greedily.
But also pepper, kale readily.
Her nose of course is quite beyond compare.
Yet, she’s taught me some skill in sniffing air.
The barbecue of neighbors far away
That drifts into my zone is quite okay.
It seems to me important as we teach
To recognize that every species—each
Survived four billion years of trying time
Preferring human ways is not a crime.
For much of which we learned we should feel pride;
Recall we aren’t the only ones who ride
This wild spiral through our galaxy.
And when it comes to pure ecstasy?
Our doggie teachers show us how to play;
To dwell with happy every single day;
To love with love that’s larger than our life.
They teach us how to fly above the strife.
For who can tell the teacher from the taught?
And who can count those moments quite unsought
When doggies reconnect our brains to hearts
It is the finest of the teaching arts.
petersironwood 