There are a few adjustments that have to be made when traveling with our pups. One of them is rising early to take them out for a walk. No doggie doors on an RV, so every morning, off we go.
Morning Walk
Each and every morning
just as the sun’s coming up
I’m aroused from my blissful slumber
by Cary, our oldest pup.
Now, these days I really hate waking up
no matter how long I have slept
But Cary, he’s having none of it
So, he rousts me out of my bed.
He starts out with one little whine.
Just enough to get my attention.
I pretend to be asleep. Not hearing him.
But he wants me up. Did I mention?
He knows that I’m faking and so he barks.
A little yip to tell me he’s serious.
But at oh-dark-thirty in the AM?
Little dude, you must be delirious.
I can hear that he’s getting rambunctious.
I sit up so he’ knows I can hear him.
But he only gets himself more excited
And for more sleep the chances are slim.
Once he’s got me up the other two kids
Gordie and Cloudy come into the fray.
Their bright eyes conveying the message.
“Hey, pops. Where we walking today?”
They only get more agitated
when their leashes come down from the wall.
Each one wants to be first to get hooked up.
It’s like I don’t matter at all.
They’re dancing now in anticipation.
I open the door and they’re gone.
Tripping down the three steps to adventure.
Sniffing everything they stumble upon.
It’s a chore keeping them untangled
As they wander in every direction.
Searching for that illusive something
over my many objections.
After a while they settle down
and wander a little more calmly.
It gives me the chance to look around
and take in the beauty that surrounds me.
Rarely ever, at home, do I take the time
to wake and watch the sun coming up.
At home, the dogs let themselves in and out.
They’re quite independent, these loveable pups.
But whenever we travel, we all rise together.
Out into the world we do go.
And every day is a different sunrise
over mountains and deserts and oceans and more.
Despite my many protests and complaints
the kids show me God’s great big sky.
His lakes, his rivers, his marvelous world.
A beauty no one can deny.
These things that I’ve taken for granted.
The wind and the rain. The sun coming up
are God’s greatest gifts brought to me every day
by simply walking our three little pups.
Copyright 2024 by Jose Antonio Ponce