I wrote this poem while walking 16 blocks with my sixth guide dog to a dental appointment. I am sharing it to honor my nine guide dogs on April 26th, International Guide Dog Day!
Dancers: A Tribute to My Nine Guide Dogs
We are cloud dancers,
You lead and I follow.
Our steps synchronized
Our bodies swaying to the same rhythm.
Swept along in the current of the jet stream.
Floating lightly on the swell of an updraft,
Swooping into a glide down the slope of a down draft.
Side slipping around a gaggle of migrating geese.
Pausing a few beats to let a thunderhead rumble past.
Through fog and mist through falling snow we whirl,
Our movements in perfect unison.
Where your paws lead,
My feet follow.
What does it matter,
If only we two hear the music.
We move together as one being.
We are Cloud dancers, you and I.
This poem was first published in “Behind Our Eyes, Stories, Poems and Essays, Written by People with Disabilities,” in 2007.