If There Are No Dogs in Heaven

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Jim Stewart

Always glad to see me
Always at my side;
I need to say this clearly
So it’s obvious when I die;
I’ll stop the bus on the way
Until I surely know:
If there are no dogs in heaven,
I don’t want to go.

Walking in the dunes
Sniffing every tuft of grass;
Patience with my impatience
Is how you teach me class.
If you could tell me how you feel
I’d listen head to toe;
If there are no dogs in heaven
I don’t want to go.

In that moment when we look
Into each other’s eyes,
Our feelings of contentment
Come as no surprise;
My grateful grin, your heartfelt wag
We reap just what we sow;
If there are no dogs in heaven
I don’t want to go.

If there were no dogs in heaven
I’d be a garden without a rose,
A napper with no doze,
A doorway you can’t close,
A face without a nose,
A fire truck with no hose;
Oh, I wouldn’t last a minute
If heaven had no dogs in it.

Always glad to see me
No matter where I’ve been;
The happiest of greetings
Shows in your goofy grin;
At night you guard the hallway
To keep us free of woe
If there are no dogs in heaven
I don’t want to go.

If there were no dogs in heaven
I’d be a rainstorm with no drips,
Poker with no chips,
A gymnast with no flips,
A dancer with no hips,
A kiss without four lips;
Oh, there’s not that much I know,
But if there are no dogs in heaven
I don’t want to go.
If there are no dogs in heaven
I don’t want to go.

(Dog Boy: Author Boy)

Posted in Dog, Dogs | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Snap

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Jim Stewart

She slept on the floor by the side of my bed,
Snoring softly in the darkness.
When it was time, she’d awaken me gently and
I’d reluctantly lurch with her to the front door;
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, clear, rain, wind, snow…it didn’t matter;
I’d let her out and trust her to come back.
If it was wet or snowy, I learned to have a towel handy.
My parents never stirred, nor did my sister,
It was just me and the dog.
She’d come back; I’d let her in and we’d go down the hall to my room,
But she’d stop at each door to make sure nobody’d left while she was out.
Before I fell back asleep, she always thanked me with a sniff
And stretched out on the floor where my hand could trail to touch.
Sometimes I’d hear her snoring begin again;
Sometimes I wouldn’t.

(Moon: ajr.org; Schnauzer: schnauzer-help.ru)

Posted in Childhood, Dog, Friendship, Poem, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Guest in My Swamp

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Jim Stewart

Reading Brian Doyle and it’s like
He took a vacation in my head, with a canoe or
Kayak, paddling around the marsh collecting lily
Pads and skunk cabbages, so prevalent in the dark spots,
And weaving them into a poem that speaks
Exactly to me and finds, dead on, the absolute place
That renders me awed and agape at the perfection of it,
The ultimate gift, you know?

(Swamp: medium.com)

Posted in Brian Doyle, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Haiku: Still Winter

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Jim Stewart

All day cold north wind;
Spits of rain from time to time.
It is still winter.

(Ecola Point: Jim Stewart)

Posted in Beach, Haiku, Home, Life, Ocean, Oregon, Poem, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Listen

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Jim Stewart

Listen.

That’s good; now listen some more.

Good. Why is it
that when you focus on listening,
it seems to get quieter?

Maybe it is your self that quiets.

wallup.net

(ear: kidshealth.org.nz; horizon: wallup.net)

Posted in Consciousness, Humans, listening, Poem, Quiet, Wisdom | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Barry Lopez Essay

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Jim Stewart

Please read this, if you love the world. It’s from Orion Magazine ~Jim Stewart

Barry Lopez: Love in a Time of Terror
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Haiku: Wind Aria

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Jim Stewart

The sea paints the shore
as the rain lashes my face;
the wind sings a hymn.

(waves: Jim Stewart)

Posted in Haiku, Ocean, Oregon, rain, Uncategorized, Water | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Omniscience

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Jim Stewart

I can handle my liquor, but
fall on my face;
My intelligence is genius, but
misinterprets the problem;
I see all obstacles, but
step into the hole;
My kindness is legendary, but
my words bring tears;
I am a great driver, but
the bicyclist has to miss me;
I am forthright and brave, but
hide from the truth.

My omniscience is suspect.

(image: magic.wizards.com)

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Haiku–Patient Rain

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Jim Stewart

Steam rises from the
fence; the sun hangs high and round;
rain waits patiently.

(Sun: ifa.Hawaii.edu; Fence: youtube.com)

Posted in Haiku, rain, Sun, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Do Spiders Dream?

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Jim Stewart

Wind rises;
trees bend and stretch;
webs ripple and tear.
Drops as big as she
engulf delicate weaving
as she tries respinning the damage,
but the maelstrom says no.

She retreats to a cup of leaves to endure.
Her dreams are calamitous.
I understand.

(web: study.com)

Posted in Dream, Endurance, future, Hurricane, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments