A Follow-Up

To My Short Story,

A Bum, With a Pocketful of Diamonds

And My Thanks To My Friend, Georg Mateos,

For His Poem,

Of Love Made With Lies

And To My Friend, J. Allen Wilson,

For His Poem,

The Dear Eddie Of The Animal Kingdom

Thank God that I had a loyal co-pilot

When after my divorce, I drove away

And to her, my devoted guardian angel

I owed a debt, that I could never re-pay

There were days that I couldn’t fly straight

When I was depressed, and I started to drink

But she was always right there by my right side

To remind me to pull over for awhile, and to think

Very soon, the two of us were living in a small apartment

And she never complained very much, that I couldn’t cook

She was content to hover there by my side, ever on guard duty

As I snoozed, watched television, or began reading another book

And very soon, she became my very loyal fishing partner

We shared many an adventure in the wilderness together

She never complained about our meager accommodations

She was a true blue friend in both sunshine and foul weather

And it was her eager enthusiasm in investigating all kinds of wildlife

That led to my interest in and true love of forest creatures and lake fowl

Although we shared some bad experiences, like being sprayed by skunks

How I vividly recall each and every episode, and how we both truly did howl

It was also because of my extremely compassionate furry co-pilot

That I also developed an interest in and a love for homeless alley cats

One day, out of the blue, she adopted a starving feline right in our yard

Soon, she became a surrogate mother to about ten of them, just like that

She also became my devoted nurse, every time that I fell ill

She literally saved my life one night after I underwent surgery

I hemorrhaged in my sleep, and she diligently woke me up

If she had not, it certainly would have been the very end of me

And the very black day that I lost my devoted co-pilot to cancer

As I buried her in my backyard, drenched in both agony and tears

I finally realized how selfless our animal friends are to we humans

Recalling how she faithfully pulled me through all my divorce fears

Several weeks later, as I put pen to paper, recalling my co-pilot’s story

I soon found that each and every page was drenched in my thick wet tears

Her story was the very first written work that I ever sold to a national magazine

It was because of my co-pilot, that today, as a writer and an author, I am here

If life ever beats you down like it truly had me,

And no friends can be found anywhere around,

I highly recommend you find yourself a co-pilot,

At your local animal shelter, or city dog pound.

Today, I have four extremely loyal co-pilots,

And some people might think that a bit odd,

But when anyone ever questions me about that,

I remind them DOG spelled backwards is GOD.

And I now believe in my heart and soul,

That His Guardian Angels really do exist,

And that they truly come to us,

In all sorts of shapes, sizes, and forms,

And very often, right when we need them most.

†2007, Mr. Ed