# Poems Let Them To Them A hoof, a paw, a beak, a maw, A trip to the park to run, to bark, To wrestle and fetch and swim and then To home to hump, to play, to jump, To talk and howl and share these breaths Between dog and human as equals, not pets A meow, a stroke, a stretch, a purr, A caw, a treat, A neigh, a trot, A love in heat A love when not And loving to walk with a four legged lover And loving to listen, to cherish each other And to lovers here And to lovers gone To pay forward kindness: To carry love on; To feeling and knowing And loving the things that only we creatures do They don’t understand, but let them to them To thine own self be zoo Dandelions Dog walks nose-down through the dandelions, Brushing his face against the spreading of life. We lie down on the grass And the ants and the other bugs flock to us; We snap and brush at them As around us a hot dandelion snow falls and rises, Considering its thoughts on the ground. Eventually the dog rolls over for a belly rub And after getting one We go back inside. Dandelions 2 There are so many things I never would have seen if not for you, my dog boyfriend, being a regular presence in my life. This morning we were walking across the boardwalk over the pond, and we saw all of the dandelion tufts resting on the surface of the pond. A pale algae; airborne travelers alighting onto some water. I never would have imagined that, thought to come up with that as a thing, by myself. You showed it to me, and for that and for many things, I love you so much. ## ζ