However, death and the fear of it are integral parts of this planet's experience. I have to keep it real and play the literary cards I am dealt (I've seen a lot of crap in my life) while walking through this world. Furthermore, look at the plots of Shakespeare, movies and books. The possibility of death or hardship creates tension and inspires the pen of many...
Poor little Spunky, the thinly-coated, reddish-brown neighborhood Dachshund had an obsession with squirrels. Not much bigger than one himself, I always wondered what would happen if he caught one. You take a big ol' buck squirrel who has had a few years building his muscles leaping from branch to branch and running from neighborhood dogs while all the while he was feasting on protein rich acorns. Throw him up against a pampered 5 pound pooch and see what happens. I know who my money is on.
Spunky should have given up on squirrels and left them alone a long time ago. But, as he aged, I think he felt his reputation was on the line since he had never caught one and was continually bombarded with such tree rats as they infringed upon his territory....
Squirrel Watching
I came upon a dog in snow,
just what he saw I did not know.
So still he sat, so long he stared,
peculiar sight but I doubt he cared.
His sole concern was in a tree,
the upper branches where squirrels might be.
I watched the tree but found it bare,
no squirrels or varmints hiding there.
I'd never seen so strange a sight,
so I came back real late at night.
Beneath the moon he held his pose,
still pointing skyward with his nose.
Life is harsh with many woes;
that stupid pooch had simply froze.
'Twas the strangest thing I ever saw,
maybe next spring I'll watch him thaw.
The moral of the story is;
avoid a fate as sad as his.
Patience is a virtue, true;
but we must know when we are through!
