Old Dogs

Old dogs teach me to wait quietly.
They show me patience.
Then patiently,
Old dogs teach me gentleness and kindness.

Old dogs reflect compassion and tolerance
so I feel them too.
Old dogs show me how life is lived now,
right now, this moment,
and that now is eternal.

Old dogs reflect my soul in their faces.
Brilliant … or clouded.

Old dog hearts pulse life beyond their bodies
to steady mine,
then return to them
Leaving tiny fragments of light
sparkling in the dark.

©2008 Bobbie Kolehouse