When I am old...

When I am old...

I shall wear Turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts
and a bandana over my silver hair
and I shall spend my Social Security Checks on Sweet Wine and My Dogs
and sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to my dog's breathing.

I will sneak out in the middle of a warm Summer night and take my dogs for a run,
if my old bones will allow
and when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs
and talk of them and about them
The Ones so Beloved of the Past
and the Ones so Beloved of Today

I still will work hard cleaning after them and mopping and feeding them
and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel
and I will be an embarrassment to alland my family
who have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a God.
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will stay
and their big, strong necks
and kiss their dear sweet heads
and whisper to their very special company

I look in the Mirror
and see I am getting old
this is the kind of woman I am
and have always been.

Loving dogs is easy,
they are part of me,
accept me for who I am,
my dogs appreciate my presence in their lives
when I am old this will be important to me

You will understand when you are old
and if you have dogs to love too.

--Author unknown