Old Dogs

Lego

We sat on the a gravel bar
a campfire between us and Three Step
"go get me a Coke" I said to your father
and he cocked his head, half lifted an ear
my friends roared in laughter, at me
my silly notions that I could teach
an old dog, a new trick, on the spot

they weren't laughing when he appeared
by my side, with the red and white can
in his mouth
and for a moment, we were all scared
he understood something we didn't

for ten years he was the best dog ever,
your dad, a red merle Aussie
a fighter, a lover, a fishcamp stink-head thief

and now, nearly fourteen
you plod down our gravel road
glazed with an ice, like the thin layer over
your old eyes, your ears failing you
Kita, Yuma, Charley, your father Loc,
even your own sister, Tundra, now just
a wooden cross on the Takotna River

for ten thousand years
dogs like you, like your father
like all those good dogs in heaven
have joined us around campfires
brought us warmth and laughter
licked the tears from our cheeks

we are better because of you
and perhaps all these years
it has been you, trying to teach
us a new trick or two