Dogs Have Taught Me a Lot about Love
("Those who can’t, teach.")

Dogs have taught me a lot about love.
Like, if you want a hug
– just jump up,
                       wag your tail & smile.
Even more valuable:
Barking isn’t attractive but
beautiful eyes will get you forgiven
any fault.
 
My dogs are fixed so
this one took me a little longer to notice:
There’s nothing erotic about thoughtless sex
                       (dogs don’t bother with wine & roses
            nor do they flutter their eyelashes).
– For all their animality,
dogs do not make
                           wild passionate love.
 
But for all that, most of all – 
pure love just accepts itself and lets go:
Dogs don’t need to read about Venus and Mars
to figure out how
                         to let you know they love you.
We’ve been talking too much;
we should just kiss,
                                wag our tails together & smile.
 
        (Cats, of course, have taught me nothing.)

© Reid Cooper