This Is Mine, All Mine

This is Mine, All Mine by Chuck Keys Fall day, perfect, Sunny brisk alive. Filtered rays of sunlight. Shimmering through semi barren trees Almost skeletal Scattered blown leaves Patiently waiting their first winter freeze, So - very serene, calm, barely a sound, A bird or two chirping Sounding lost, Looking about ready. There, a small sparse bush Proudly showing a tiny new green innocent bud, Nonchalantly waiting about. His chance to grow, Fading with shortened cooler days coming On the trail, my dog, At my front, back and … side, Protectively jumping, sniffing, flying, yelping Majestically prancing about and over, Manly pawing his ground, Feeling heat from The October daytime warmed earth Dried decaying broken leaves of time fading, In motion, Wind behind his gate, Cantering soundlessly but hard, manly Racing airborne paws; Panting with passion, drooling in chase, Soaring gleefully effortlessly in-flight, ... off the ground ... leaping high, higher, highest Endlessly into the wilderness, On his ground. His movements … echoing, uncontrolled. The tamed beast; driven as ever, Head locked rigid aimed forward, high, tongue draped aside out Eyes opened squinting into the wind, starring affront Nose twitching alive on fire in hunt, Tail erect, straight as an arrow on Legs in sync with one another, together Body pulsing as one, muscles taught, On guard, with pride and ownership. He stops, panting eyes piercing, … side to side, front to back "This is mine, all mine" ... he says ... he says to his daddy.