Today’s keyword is “Dream.” This poem is from my chapbook, Plant a Garden Around Your Life.

New Tricks

Dogs are born
The most codependent creatures
On the face of this Earth.

If you beat them
They will come crawling to you
Their tail tucked between their legs,
But crawling to you.

Mistreat them long enough
And one day
They can snap on you
And get vicious.
For their self esteem
Is totally dependent
On a pat on the head
No matter how badly they’re treated.

They are either too nice or too nasty.
And that rare dog
That goes to obedience school
Must fight these tendencies
For it is its nature
To grovel or to growl.

People are not born codependent
But they can be trained into it
If you start at an early age.
The young are most teachable.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
But you can teach an adult child
To obey their own dreams,
To listen to their own feelings,
And not those of another
Who might mistreat them.

A dog is codependent by nature.
Human beings, by nature,
Are independent
And can learn new tricks.

There’s more to read here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4FNQTE/