The happy ending (poem)

1 The mournful dog

(Morning)
There are the usual birds singing
From forest and meadow
And there is that half bark half moan
Of a dog who has been guarding
A hard-scrabble farm
All night
A few meadows away
Where no one is currently living
Just the dog and some animals
I usually hear this mournful sound at dusk
But also sometimes in the morning
Its job is to keep the hen-killing
Egg-stealing critters at bay
Which he or she does over and over and over
Being the good martyr that he is
But he can't keep his loneliness
And feeling of abandonment at bay


2 Is there a law being broken?


I feel for this dog
Is there a law being broken?
Should I call the Humane Society
Or the constable?
It's either that or tune out his misery
Which I've been managing to do pretty well
Until now
My heart is all dented these days like a tin can
That has been kicked down the road


3 The lonely wooden tower


My heart does its own moaning
As if watching from its lonely wooden tower
Leonard Cohen's description
Of Jesus' outpost
From which he observed all the misery in the world
But it's not just Jesus (and Leonard Cohen)
Many of us have hearts
That maintain that same vigil
Hearts that want to call for an intermission


4 Intermission


We can all meet in the lobby
And make small talk
Or duck into the restroom
Or stand outside and breathe some fresh air
Before we are chimed back into the theater
For the second act


5 The second act and finale


If this isn't a tragedy
We might reasonably hope
That things will get better
And maybe it will end well for the dog
And all the other unfairness and unhappiness
And misery of the world
Will be miraculously healed
Once everyone discovers
(As we are sure to)
That we can walk on the water
And perform other kinds of miracles
And in the finale all the poets will come down
From their lonely wooden towers
And all those who were drowning
In the second act
The seas will free them
And everyone will join hands
And bow deeply
For the standing ovation
And even the dog will come out
Wagging his tail
For the curtain call
And one of the actors will
Decorate him with extravagant flowers
And we will make our way
Out of the theater dazzled
By how special we are
In our own eyes