The Last Dog

Notes unread since high school,

Snapshots of wasted days,

Boxes crammed full of mementos,

That should’ve been thrown away.

As I aged, cash lost its value,

Thoughts and friends now adrift in fog…

I obsessed on what to eat next,

Until I adopted an older dog.

Roscoe, great friend and companion,

Loved his walks with me in tow…

Right up to the day cancer took him.

Now time is a haunting echo. 

Definitely he is my last dog,
I've removed the welcome mat...
It's not that I have no love to give,
It is what I promised the cat. 

Miscalculations

My father lived with a slide rule.

His thoughts were exact and precise…

I equaled none of his equations;

He never treated math errors nice.

It is amazing after 60 years,

These thoughts still cross my mind…

I forget incredible memories

Focusing still on the unkind.

I grew quiet in the 6^th grade,

Laying low to never be heard…

It wasn’t until he was dying

When I finally spoke three words:

“I forgive you”

Chapters

School recess, church and rebellion,

First cars, first dates, first death…

We found first jobs, mates and houses.

Time barely paused to catch our breath.

There were parties, drinks, beach fires,

Our children’s births and graduations...

We moved away, sent Christmas cards

And similar salutations.

Traveling blind on life's highways,

Through victories, losses, champagne toasts…

We never knew those laughs and songs,

Were our lifetime’s mile posts.