I wrote this May 1, 2007- I re-edited today-
I live in the mid west, so the horizon touches the sky
Not like in the Rockies where the land raises up to the heavens
I was walking my dogs, and feeling down…
Zeus and Uriah ran off to chase a chipmunk…
Sampson walked slowly next to me
He had a hard day today
The heavy air brought on grand maul seizures, three to be exact
The bump on his head was larger
So he was moving slowly
I parroted him as we made our way around the yard
I turned and looked into the setting sun
With my hand on Sampson’s head
We stood, and watched
The sky was bright with orange streaks
With shadowy clouds below
That barely touched the tree line on the horizon
Darker clouds stretched out in a half circle then moved outward
I kept staring, thinking
I was missing something
Something bigger than myself
The colors were changing, glowing pink then deeper red
The darker clouds stayed in the same pattern
I felt I was on a shoreline
Looking out over water
Off to the right a pier stretched out into the waves
And then beyond that, more water until it reached the far shore
At this moment, this place was real
It existed
This place of deep heavy colors
Gold, orange, reds and pinks, dark blue and purples
Colors blanketed me, with hope
Sampson sighed…
Then moving slowly in the fading light
He headed to the pond
Where he hesitated
For only a second
Then stepped into the mirror like water
Startling a duck that flew off quacking towards the setting sun
The Frogs stayed and shared his swim
Thirsty, he drank from the pond, loud and sloppy
Then slowly, extricated himself from the muddy bottom
He turned and looked up at me
Pleased I was there
Then raced up the bank
Flopped onto the green grass and
Rolled around like he was in heaven
*Sampson had to be put to sleep because of a brain tumor; December 5, 2007 .
This dog literally saved my life. I will write about that. He was smart, sweet, gentle and very big.