Obitus Canis

What can you learn from an old dog you loved?

That food is a reason to jump for joy at any time.

That morning can never come early enough.

Never to shun a stranger at your door,

nor stop fawning over your friends.

To follow your nose to the source.

The contagion of enthusiasm.

A companionable silence.

How devoted subjects train their masters.

True to your breed, now you run to fetch

something that’s irretrievable.

--from Twenty Questions