On Mali and Love

[Inspired by our pup Mali who makes more mess in the house than the rest of us put together.]

On Mali and Love

I tell her ‘stop’ but she can’t comprehend

She chews my socks and rips apart the trees

I sew and sweep - it costs to have a friend

Can love be rich if it comes to us for free?

We sit outside and argue, sipping tea

Mali barks, you frown and I defend 

her right to talk and yell incessantly

(I’ve told her ‘stop’ but she can’t comprehend

the price of joy, so, like us, overspends.)

You turn and smile. I groan and yet agree.

Extend the loan. 

                                I hope to not offend -- 

She chews our socks and rips apart the trees

but you’re a cyclone to her gentle breeze!

I’ll soon be no more able to pretend

this love comes cheap. I’ll sort through the debris

and sew and sweep. It costs to have a friend

‘Or to have had,’ I’ll say as gloom descends 

and pay the bill and wonder at the fee.

Plants regrow and socks and hearts can mend

Can love be rich if it comes to us for free?

sar 2014