Brutus

Inspired by Billy Collins' "Dharma"

I had a discussion with my dog yesterday
On the joys of sleeping,
Belly-up, tail relaxed
In the splash of sunlight
Spilling through the sliding glass door.

He does this often, you see,
And could be considered somewhat
Of an expert on such matters.

His usual routine is to nose aside the blinds,
Adding more smears to the glass.
He eases onto his belly,
And from there he can use
The laws of physics
To kick his legs into the air.

I find him frequently
In this supine position,
Oversized paws bent at the wrist,
As a person imitating a bounding rabbit
Might look.
His eyes are unable to close all the way
In such a pose,
So I can just glimpse a hint
Of muddy eyes and pink eyelid
Through the gap.

A foot may occasionally tremble
As he follows his nose into his personal
Field of dreams.
And he intermittently lets out a transparent woof,
Which amounts to nothing more
Than a soft popping of his cheeks.

My dog told me
I should attempt such an activity.
So today I lay down,
Pushing aside the plastic blinds
So that the weak winter sunlight might flow in,
And I felt rather silly
When a friend came calling
And found me,
Lying among the dogs.