The Affectionate Sun

Warm blankets in the morning

Curled up like a fuzzy fern

I stretch and feel love surrounding me.

Sweet smell of breakfast

Warming in the oven

stirs me from my dreams,

though I don’t want to move for someone

I love is rubbing my belly.

The sun skips along the horizon

pink then purple then more pink and some orange

Eventually blue nuzzles out the orange and morning calls me like a trumpet

or perhaps a squirrel with his bushy tail

his wiggling nose

his desire to taunt me at every turn.

Work lies ahead

a road of happy obligations

And as I stretch, I feel the warm glow

of my muscles rising to the day.

My breakfast sits warm in my belly

As we head out in the crisp, clear morning

Ollie waits on the porch, then bounds down

to meet us — his smile matching his curls.

Then Gemma with her athletic build,

her tenacious persistence,

and her sultry desire to chase and be chased,

to taunt and be taunted,

to pester and be pestered.

Ollie is happy to be home, but waits

once again, on the porch to say goodbye

to Gemma, wave his happy tail, and snack once

last time on a tasty treat.

Then to Saber who stretches flat on the porch

and whines when he sees Gemma waiting.

They circle each other

like planets orbiting the brilliant sun

then bump along nudging each other

all the way to the park.

They play the same games they

play every day, but always with the

same happy exuberance.

Gemma goes home first, then Saber —

each tired, each content, each

heart filled with Spring.

Rosie soaks in the rays

And begs a little for some love and

tasty treats nibbled

from the demanding hand –

sit, lie down, stay!

Good girl, Rosie! Good girl!

All the while, the sun shimmers on her

red coat and her eyes sparkle happiness.

The blue sky, a halo above,

brings a smile to her floppy jowls

and the green grass feels

soft on her knuckled feet.

Alice barks at first, fearing cold clouds

then springs off her porch with a little wiggle

and a quick lick to my cheek.

We bounce our way to Woobie

who sings a happy song when we arrive.

She and Alice tap noses, exchange reports

about the weather, and then race down the

stairs into the brilliant phosphorescence of the day.

There’s a large park to the north

where children scream down slides,

kick their feet to the sky,

and save maidens in the castle.

We sit in the grass basking in the warmth

of the sun’s affections watching

boys play basketball, girls play tag,

and parents laugh from benches.

Alice goes home with few regrets

wearing the sun’s glow on her tail

while Woobie and I chase squirrels all

the way back to her house, though

we walk the long way just for fun.

Last romp of the day ends with Saber

who rises once again for the occasion.

For a treat, we walk the shadows of the waning

sun to the bigger park

where the light glimmers pink and golden

against our smiling fur.

And then, as if the day has sprouted wings,

we pull our lazy, tired bodies

through the park once again.

Saber flops with sudden joy at home

and I sigh relief that this day,

a day of wagging tails

and bouncing ears, of

blue blue skies

and white white mountains,

of friends and adventure

has come to a close.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

PS — More photos from our day below —