Sit down little pup

A backyard dog barked this morning for hours. Whined at the door and barked. Scratched and whined and whimpered and barked. He wanted to go back inside, he was sad his owners left for the day. He thought they had left forever. And from upstairs through the open screen door I could hear him. I felt sad and then annoyed because all the crying was breaking my concentration and then I felt sad again because he’s just a dog and he’s just upset and maybe he doesn’t have enough food and maybe his owners aren’t very nice to him and I’m sure he’s just terrified of being forgotten. I know what that’s like at the deep down core of me. I know what that’s like.

But he wouldn’t stop. He kept crying and crying. I wondered how he didn’t exhaust himself? Why didn’t he stop? I wondered how can an animal go on so long in so much pain – self-inflicted or inflicted by others?

I wanted to help him, to help him understand that our days are limited here – for a dog especially – and why spend so much of our time hurting and howling and crying at the door of something we can’t get into. I wanted to show him a sunny spot by a tree, to pat his head and tell him to curl up with himself. See the beautiful day springing or falling as it’s now the end of August.

The trash man came this morning, emptied all our tissues and waste, the clouds are bubbling the way plastic does when it melts on the stove, the sky is warm with an undercool current. I’m sorry you feel unloved. Sit down, little pup. Sit down and enjoy your day for no one else but you. Sit down with yourself and know that you alone will always be enough.