Within the altar
that is this body
I can
comprehend the word
serenity
and sometimes, I can know
peace
So aware of physicality and mortality, this body
aged 48 years and some months
standing there, after the 5k to benefit
homeless dogs
This body pumped full with fresh
endorphins
which carries its stories
thrown over the shoulder like a gunny sack
awkwardly straining
under a lifetime of weight
slammed down, spilling its visceral memory
into present reality
in moments of stark relief
like this one
on crystalline frigid breezy days
blooms flying off spring trees
The dogs lined up with their humans
there must have been
hundreds
legions of dog owners fawning, tugging leashes
and surveying the uneasy scene
preparing for the one mile walk.
Some dogs sleeping, others barking,
some greeting one another as dogs will do
nose to butt, making a chain of two or three
or even four at a time.
It certainly wasn’t serene, and yet it was.
I stood there by the DJ station
blaring Whitney Houston through the speakers
I want to dance with somebody
with somebody who loves me.
So overcome with the sight
I could see their little furry souls, I think
Glimmering shining innocent things
waiting for they knew not what
Tails wagging, or tucked
All of it laid out, right there
I was overcome by the sight.
It was too much for me.
I was happy
and holding lots of things inside
something had to give
I want to dance with somebody
with somebody who loves me.
And so I threw my arms around my husband’s
also aging body
I couldn’t help it.
Within a millisecond I was sobbing
into his sweaty
shoulder.
So much tenderness in the moment
So much happening at once
And yet, the one thing was
I was happy
It was a sea of dogs
I was happy in a sea of dogs
It felt like love
It felt like bliss
Was it bliss?
I don’t know.
What I do know is dog spelled backward is
G O D
