Another tough day in the life
Of a dog like me can’t you see

My humans are ill-trained
So waking them requires several techniques

Laying on their heads to get them up
Or pulling the covers off works most days

Then I take them out for a walk
This is annoying as I often have to go ***

They eat more meals a day than I do
This requires me to monitor them while they dine

Looking up at these beings giving them the evil eye
Sometimes guilt’s them into sharing

Getting them to play is often a task
Pretending to be interested in playing ball tedious

When napping I often keep one eye open
This ensures they don’t leave without my knowing

Upon their returning to my home
That I let them share with me

I jump up and down trying to look enthusiastic
This makes them feel good, so I do it every time

Generally speaking I have trained these two well
Mostly they behave but every once I have to bark at them

I rescued this pair at a shelter
So I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into

Andreas Simic©

Passing Through

We are like two sailing ships
Passing through a narrow canal

Veteran captains standing  on our decks
We nod heads to each other

In acknowledgement as if to say
Congratulations on a job well done

The sails of our boats once taut now sag
A sign of the relics we have become

In our hey day
We were the top of our class

The envy of the fleet
Known for speed and cunningness

The scourge of the open seas
Few willing to take us on in a battle of the minds

Feared in competition
Avoided where possible

But alas like all things in life
There is decline and decay awaiting us

When you know the time has come
For navigating into the sunset for safe harbor

All that is left is to idle away time
Sitting on the sandy shore until...

Andreas Simic©

First the diagnosis
Then the prognosis
Indeed it is cirrhosis

Alongside the cancer
Is the answer
They will no longer be a dancer

First comes shock
At no longer being a chip off the old block
Wanting to throw a rock

It just can’t be they are too young
Why has it spread to the lung
Will these be the last words rung

I want to ring its neck
But we need all hands on deck
So emotions are kept in check

Then sadness comes along
Oh this is so wrong
They want us to be strong

All leading to depression
And many a session
Even a confession

Can’t they be given another chance
Couldn’t there be a different circumstance
But in the end we all end up at acceptance

The five stages of grief
In a brief
Poem is my belief

Andreas Simic ©

Time Passes
I get a reminder email
Who from whom I regale
Some poetry website
Reminding me that I used to write

As I look at the date of that work
How is it possible it was so long ago
Where did the time go
Was I too busy to put words to pen

Or what else has taken my Zen
To share what talent I do have
In relating what I know of life
Even if it cuts like a knife
Where have those years gone
When my light so brightly shone

Having lost three friends to cancer
I wonder what is the answer

Should I not acknowledge their pain
For I am the one who does remain

Their lives were my beacon of hope
Each providing a different point of view
Of how a life well lived can affect so many
Never asking for nary a penny

And with a tear in my eye
I look upward to the sky
Hoping to catch a glimpse of
Ian, Warren and Sil
It is a tough pill
To swallow their loss

One that I cannot easily toss
And with that thought in mind
I do not want to be blind
To the blessing that they were

For me and those they knew
And for helping me as I grew

Andreas Simic

Worry less
reduce stress

Let go
have love show

Hold a hand
take a stand

Lose control
shore patrol

Distemper the temper
alleviate anger

Less of a lug
more bear hugs

Take a hike
ride my bike

Get a kiss
from my Miss

Turn off the TV
just be

Count blessings
not window dressings

Volunteer
cheer

Be a friend
till the end

Andreas Simic©

Deep down inside I knew I wasn’t good enough

Though we would share the same space
you hung out with a different crowd
the “in” crowd

The ones that were good looking
popular
everyone wanted to be with

I was on the outside looking in
shy, reserved
sitting at the back of the class

You had friends to hang around with
I had a job to take up my time
too poor to be fashionable

Waiting for the pain of high school
to be over
which couldn’t come fast enough

Knowing in our last class
our paths would never cross again
that was how things worked in my world

Then one day while  
working under hood of my old car
you came around the corner

All the right things happened
we wed and had a great life
until the words of doubt

Wormed their way back
into my subconscious mind
deep down inside I knew I was not good enough

And then it was over…

Andreas Simic©

Le Madam

She is most like her age

Time having eroded some of her natural beauty

A few warts have appeared here and there in spots

Yet there is this blend of young and old alike melded into one

She has transformed herself from bilingual to multi-lingual

Despite this her character has little changed over a long existence

The night life she relishes still as vibrant as ever

If she was a building one would say she had age and charm

Her busyness belies her serenity

Blessed with a deep history she exudes confidence

Allowing her to grow and prosper

Into whom she is today

Nothing can dampen her spirit it seems

Though sometimes turbulent periods have been had

Through it all a humorist slant developed and enjoyed by many

Her name Montreal

Andreas Simic©