For a Good Dog

My little dog ten years ago
Was arrogant and spry

Her backbone was a bended bow
For arrows in her eye

Her step was proud, her bark was loud
Her nose was in the sky

But she was ten years younger then
And so, by God, was I

Small birds on stilts along the beach
Rose up with piping cry

And as they flashed beyond her reach
I thought to see her fly

If natural law refused her wings

That law she would defy

For she could hear unheard-of things
And so, at times, could I

Ten years ago she split the air
To seize what she could spy;

Tonight she bumps against a chair
Betrayed by milky eye

She seems to pant, Time up, time upl
My little dog must die

And lie in dust with Hector's pup;

So, presently, must I