You walk me down the same path each time

showing me that other world you inhabit
a thousand sights and sounds
and smells

I am unware of.

You look at me with wet eyes
eager to share your various finds
and the crisp morning air

aligns with my need to rise
for the tour

you want to take me on.

You're my nature guide

and I
the student

who never graduates

learning each day

from my nature dog.
You pause
each bush
of intriguing interest

and you leave behind your scent

I guess to establish your ownership

then leaping along

to the next perpendicular

wondering why I don't

join in leaving behind

my own

pee mail.

And I think to myself
that just maybe one day

at night perhaps
I will

just to see

how you'd

react

cause I know

you'd never tell

and we'd both walk away

in the stealth of night

comrades

leaving behind our combined scents

for other dogs

to know

don't mess with

us

we have left behind two scents
on this bush.

Woff, woff

and we then move on.

Well, maybe not.
Maybe one is plenty.