Walking Jake

The eastern sky grays in the pre-dawn
Several inches of snow fell last night
Light and fluffy, it will sparkle in daylight
My dog, Jake, loves the snow
Sticks his nose deep into the drifts
Sniffing for old grassy mouse nests.

I walk him along the old hedgerow
Apple trees and cherry, brush and sumac
gray in the darkness, silhouettes on the lighter sky
The snow drifts up deeper on this side
Jake plows, looks back, tongue out - smiling
I slog along, troubled mind, troubled heart

Jake gives up on the mice and digs furtively
For horseshit. I pretend not to notice
The sun rising lights the high branches
Those branches windswept to the east
The trees start making blue shadows
I cannot regret what I’ve done

Walking back, old Jake has grown tired
He follows behind in my tracks
And I shuffle to make him a path
Snow, sun and cold, the beautiful morning
Starts to lighten my mind and my heart
It’s what I do now that will matter