Easier as a dog

Sometimes I wonder if life would be easier as a dog.

It looks like it could be.

They seem so in the moment

And bouncy.

Puppies are cuter than babies, I think.

As I think about the way puppies move

It makes me smile.

Some kids are like that too

But there's something about the dog's furry smallness that endears them more.

*

Today, I am envious of dogs.

I passed them being walked by their owners.

Lots of dogs, all different sizes:

Some wearing coats

(although it's not that cold today -

Is it a fashion thing?)

Some moving slowly,

Old dogs, grey muzzled, their owners taking their time considerately.

When I saw these dogs,

I wondered what they were thinking?

A King Charles by the pub, liver and white, waiting to cross

Could see someone opposite and its tail started wagging.

It looked pleased but it could be something else

That made it feel that way.

Maybe thinking about a doggy treat

Or a favourite place to wee

Or what its nose would sniff out on the way home.

I don't want to sniff other dogs' bums

But I wonder if just sleeping, walking and eating

With none of the trappings of what it means

To be a 21st century human

Would be a better prospect?

A room with a sun patch to lie in and dream, paws twitching;

A meal given at the same time every day;

Something to chew, maybe a shoe, maybe a rope;

A window to look out of and bark at strangers

Or next door's staring cat.

Its simplicity seems tempting

But I can't turn into a dog.

And am I romanticising it?

RSPCA adverts show cruelty.

Shivering and pleading eyes with fur missing

Their needs withheld by another cruel hand...

I don't know.

Perhaps life is like this for all creatures:

Ups and downs, trials and successes -

But I still have envy for the dog

And the lack of complexity in its life,

A formula for happiness which seems simple,

Straightforward.

I try to shuck off the trappings of modern life

But they come regardless

Because that's how things are done

And I am not a woman alone

In a cabin with a vegetable patch and a water source

And some wool to knit with and maybe a book or two.

I am not.

I just wish...

I just wish that it could be less busy,

Less fraught, less complex -

This life.

I am wondering if in having less

There is more.

I don't really want to be a dog.

I'm curious about a tail...

Maybe a temporary switch now and again

When times are tough

And space can't be found

And I can chase birds in rows of maize

Springing up to see them

And run, run, run to get to them!

Just a breather, just now and again.

The way the world's going

I feel like this will be possible

But I feel like there will be a price to pay.

*

I was feeling pensive today. Actually, I feel pensive most days but today it has come out in a whimsical poem. I'm not envious of people who have dogs although I like them but today, I was struck by how complicated life is now and how demanding, dressed up as being convenient and easier. I'm not sure that modern life is that easier anymore. Yes, it's quicker and there are aspects of it that make it convenient in terms of access to food and being mobile but sometimes I can't help but look at it and think that paring it down might just be a simpler option.

When I saw these dogs today, walking around, tails wagging, tongues lolling and moving with a vigour and vitality I am just not feeling, it made me muse on what it would be like to be a dog and a poem (of sorts) was born.