My daughter walks up the drive to meet me.
Mom, she says, I have a pet.
She is dragging an old pump
attached to a long black electrical cord.
Meet Pumpy, she says.
Hello Pumpy, I say. She pulls
the red and black cylinder into her arms.
I am trying to prove to you
that I am ready to be a dog owner, Mom.
I am going to take Pumpy for walks
every night and every morning
and give him a bath in the river. Come.
She puts the pump back on the ground
and yanks it up the drive, calling,
Come boy. Good Pumpy.
When we get to the top of the drive,
she picks up Pumpy to cross the street.
You know, she says, the street
is a dangerous place.
And then we walk up the dirt hillside.
There, she finds an old deer bone
and helps Pumpy to bury it.
Mom, she says, what do you think?
I think my heart is breaking
with the purity of her desire.
I think the evening light
makes everything more beautiful.
I think it is hard to say no
to something our loves really want.
No, I say. We can’t get a dog.
But you will be a great dog owner someday.
She knew this would be the answer,
and says, Come, Pumpy,
there’s more to explore.
And though it’s getting dark,
we walk deeper into the woods.
A unique and touchnig poem. “But you will be a great dog owner someday”.is excellent parental wisdom.
Sigh, you turned my heart mooshy. Kiitos (Thank you), for that. A quiet, softly touching poem, this. You hooked me with, “She is dragging an old pump/”
“I think it is hard to say no/to what our loves really want.” Yet, that is precisely what you do in the very next line; yet, as Ms Nan already pointed out, you don’t close the door with that, no—you leave it ajar for when time changes the circumstances. Surprisingly, she seems to accept you answer, and, further, continues undeterred. Finally, your closing couplet leaves its own door ajar for so many interpretations.
(ps a typo wrangled its way into this lush poem: “She put the pump back on the ground,” should of course be, “She puts the pump…”)
awwww, thanks amigo. for the sweet comments and also for finding the typo!
it was a very funny and sweet scene. xo
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