My dog will spread her vile mess
On grass of different bent and place,
On sea,
Now by its mirror large illuminesced
For me.

Your nooks of shade, your paths half-seen,
Places secret in between
Whose border wears its coat of green
To see
Where God’s light flickers on the scene:
I can have my stillest being
So free.

By day, my little patch of light,
My patch of dark at night,
Honeysuckles, roses quiet,
Bright Sun,
At eve will scent the darkness quite
In one.

I’ll love my sweetest Ipsitilla
My delish, my pretty hare!
Tell me to come to you round about lunchtime.
And if you command it, I’m there at your bidding.
Let none bar the house’s doorstep
And make not your pleasure then to go out,
But stay at home, ready for us
To do it nine times in one long ****.
Alright, if you ask, I’ll obey on the spot:
Once having dined, I’ll flop supine
Poking out of my tunic as well as my cloak.

Dog, you are just as old as me
Our mind in one purview,
When I was young and did a lot
Dog dreamtime cradled you.

When I had ripened to a fault,
Growth full, next stop decay
You tore from tree to me in glee
And romped all day in play.

From that, we both decline in one
To sit and listen now,
Our ball is caught, our song is sung
And we wait the hour.

My flesh and bone is well and strong,
The mind is loth and weak
Beginnings new the loss among
Happy now to seek.

Break out O Sun from that swift cloud
Sailing the Heaven free,
Warm up Earth’s stones and my bones proud
To embrace what is not me.

A dragonfly inspects my garden
In a fleeting blaze of sun,
Huge and dusky, like a dancer
Whirling wings of filigree spun
Beguiling sweet my spirit faint
Tips new-dipped in golden paint.

A wandering tumble-dryer
Sat by a deep lagoon
And tried to re-align him
With happenings late and soon,

New paths, new plots, new people
New chemicals in the wash,
And sitting there in God’s sweet air
The lake he looked across,

“Just as the Sun at break of day
Glad hope will soon revive,
I now embrace the life I have,
Bliss to fortunate survive.”

In this happy mood of mind
He churned his merry drum,
Clothes softly sifting down inside
Out perfect then to come.