Thankgiving

ThanksgivinG

My first day unencumbered

in weeks. Having Cloud Acre's 

million willow maze all to myself

after radical middle politicking up

in Telluride. Warm jacket weather

Walking Simba, Mary’s rescue dog

she gifted us – a tough little Chow 

who loves to run free. But

in irrigated cattle & sheep fields

dogs at large don’t live long

Above us the trimmed cuticle of

a moon barely visible in the west

I’m tending to her leash

from our barrow ditch path 

drinking in all there is to think

when she smells something

across the blacktop & lunges

onto the county road just

as a speeding pickup races

over the hill. Itki’s all I can do

to dig my feet in & tug her

back to safety. Giving thanks

for saving Simba, for memories

of Mary, for a blue sky Colorado day

& for all those on the team

in this tug-of-war world

ART GOODTIMES