more lines on the death of dogs…..continued

 

 

You say his name is Donald

And I think, but don’t say

That I’ve never met a dog called Donald

It’s only hours later that i get the joke

Donald where’s your trousers

Oh you haven’t got any

You’re a dog

 

Donald is snuffling in the leaves

You are taking photographs

On the path your husband stands weeping

The saturday morning 10 am dog walking crew try not to notice

You say

“This is his last walk”

Donald is old

Fur faded to the same pink as a care bear in a charity shop

 

Then your husband speaks

“We were going to take him to the beach”

And a shrug

We all wade in

Say how happy he seems snuffling in the leaves

Pet him

Tell him he’s a good boy

Our dogs are uncharacteristically quiet

Gentle even

“It’s as if they know”

Says someone

Or perhaps the leaves smell especially good here.

 

going to see the dinosaur

 

 

It is sunday and you are bored and we are broke

So a visit to a free museum seems to be the best of bets

Afternoon carefully calculated to consume as much time as possible

Side trip to feed the ducks with a bag of bread too stale even for toast

And because you are five i keep my hand on your hood just in case you decide to follow the trajectory of bread crumbs into the water

 

Everything engagages you

Restored rail track in the children’s park

Going nowhere

But we play at trains

Cho cho cho cho

And because you are five you have not yet learnt to roll your eyes curl your lip walk away

 

And on New Walk we stop to snack

I hear my mother’s voice

“ picnics so much nicer than a stuffy cafe”

But now i understand

You are five and easily pleased

Drink your juice

Share smart price biscuits with the squirrels

Into the museum

Retrace the same route as last time and the time before

Mummified cat and then the mummy

But not too close

Because you are five and keeping you safe is time-consuming but straightforward

 

Then the dinosaur and you tell me everything you know

Again

In the museum shop we find a box of plastic toys reduced to pence

And because you are five it takes fifteen minutes to make the perfect choice

Triceratops

Our favourite

Walking home you call her Topsy and let her growl and snarl at strangers

And because you are five they smile

Later still you set an extra plate

Our tea of mashed potatoes 

Grated cheese

Broccoli somewhat past its sell by date

Makes a meal of perfect scale for a tiny dinosaur.

 

not virtue signalling

 

 

Mark’s sharp  off the mark – you have to give him that

From his space on the street he watches the pavement cafe with an eagle eye

 Quick to clock when tables over-full of cups and plates, saucers used as ashtrays

And then he swoops

Stacks neatly

Takes them back indoors

Doesn’t seem to need recognition or reward

Just a few minutes of feeling useful

And he never asks for anything

But sometimes if you press the point

“ Well some water might be good”

And it’s that might that gets me every time

When i can i share fags and cash

Remember to make eye contact, use his name

And meanwhile the greek chorus in my head is gaining ground, again

“ She has a room in her house, she only uses for drying clothes”

And i need to say stop – let me explain

The room is tiny, really small

I don’t use the tumbler dryer anymore – because well, global warming

One day I’m scared I will blurt this out

And then I’ll have a homeless man

( well, technically not homeless, he’ll be living in my home)

I’ll have a man living in my drying room

And i don’t know exactly how that could play out

Who knew that virtue signalling could make you feel so bad

There are times when I wish he just wasn’t here.