Eddie

liked to
think he was
stronger than dirt,

but
he had a
weak spot
in his heart
for his dog,
Bastard.

now,
old Bastard,
he was tough.

he’d been hit
by cars
twice

and,
even when Eddie
found him,
three years ago,
under the Parker’s steps,
with a
broken leg
and his throat cut,

he didn’t even
whimper.

Eddie wouldn’t have
even noticed him
if he
didn’t hear him
moving around
in the leaves.

in fact,
that’s how
the dog
got his name.

when Eddie saw
the condition he was in,
he said
“Bastard!”
and the dog
just looked at him,
as if to say
“back at ya, buddy!”

they were tight
since then,
Eddie and the Bastard.

he liked to think
they’d be
friends forever,

but, he knew
it didn’t
work that way.

one day
the old Bastard
would run out of luck…

a car would
get him
and that’d be
the end of it.

that was fine,
with Eddie.

nothing
lasts
forever.

until that time,
they’d just
hang out,

him
and the Bastard.

besides,
what they’ve got
is ten times
better

than
immortality.

John, you're killing me with the dog poems.  This one has such a delicate rhythm and the story comes fluttering down to the reader in these lovely staccato lines, like so many autumn leaves in October.  My only suggestion might be to end at 'hang out.'  I think the moral at the end is fully evident in the preceding lines.

Yours,
Tim

This is wonderful.  And what an ending!  Is this fiction?  It feels so real

it started this morning when someone told me he had a friend who named his dog "Bastard".   the rest is my creation.

That's John's hallmark. It's always real!

thanks, lavonne!  that means a lot to me.  i just found out the other day that i'll be having a book out that will collect all my dog poems from all my books.  that's certainly something that's been talked about for years.  it's finally going to happen and i think "Eddie" will feel quite at home.
john

An enjoyable read, John. A few notes for possible edits...
Parker’s=Parkers'?
Whether the dog belonged to Eddie before the Parkers' steps incident, or not, was murky to me.
The "immortality" at end is such an abstraction, if falls a little flat for me. I don't know what's good about it, to compare. Is it what exactly what you mean?
Congrats on dog book! Tom

'Eddie' will be in great company, John. Looking forward to the book.

milner

yep.  exactly.
thanks for checking it out and thanks also for your thoughts.  whether i use them or not...whether i agree with them or not, isn't the point.  the point is that your input is much appreciated.
john

me, too!  these are very happy times for me.
i'm a lucky guy.
now, i've just gotta have the damn tow truck get here as my car battery is dead and my luck seems to have run out.
john

since someone brought up "my dogs", i thought i'd bring back "Eddie", which is my favorite of my dog poems.

John, do you know who brought up "my dogs"?