Walking The Dog Poem by William L Roberts

Yesterday my dog charged through the woods
Hoping to give some deer some healthful exercise.
Drizzle and mist with hints of sleet
Clothed the wetlands with mysteries.
I walked along the paths
Glad when I saw her through the trees.

Today my dog charges through the woods
Hunting for deer who'd like a free work out.
The air is bright with sunlight
And the creak of waking frogs,
Their rusty engines reluctant to turn over,
And everywhere the green tips of skunk cabbage
Poke through the leaf litter.
Now comes the whine of dirt bikes
As the kids speed excitedly by
Leaving the stink of exhaust.
Without them, of course,
The paths'd soon be grown over.

Tomorrow my dog'll charge through the woods,
Hunting those needy deer.
I'll carry an often read novel
To a grassy hill hot in the sunshine
Undeveloped as it once was the town landfill.
I'll sit and start reading,
Remembering that lost hit
When I first read it,
That long ago time.
But enjoying it all the same.