Dog's Feelings

Dogs will lick their face
If you let them to do so
Their bodies will shiver with happiness
A simple walk in the park
Is just about the height of contentment
Followed by bowl of food, a bowl of water
A place to curl up and sleep
Someone to scratch them where they can't reach
And smooth their foreheads
And talk to them
Dogs also have a natural dislike for postmen
And other bringers of bad news
And will bite them on your behalf
Dogs can smell fear and also love with perfect accuracy
There is no use pretending with them
Nor do they pretend
If a dog is happy or sad
Or nervous or bored or ashamed
Everybody knows it
They make no secret of themselves
You can even tell what they are dreaming about
By the way their legs jerk and try to run
On the slippery ground of sleep
Nor are they given to pretentious self importance
They don't try to impress you with
How serious or sensitive they are
They just feel everything full blast
Everything is off the charts with them
More than once I have seen a dog
Waiting for its owner at home
'Oh God! What if he doesn't come back this time?
What will I do?
Who will take care of me?
I loved him so much
And now he is gone
And I am at home looking at people
Who don't look, smell or look like him at all'
And when he does come
What a commotion
What a chorus of yelping and cooing
And leaps straight up in the air
Its almost unbearable
This sudden fullness
After such a total loss
To see the world made whole again
By a hand on the shoulder
And a voice like no other!

- Nirmohi