4/ Belly fur therapist

A wilderness howl punctuates the Stygian stillness

as two sets of ears prick up to catch the plaintive call

of beguiling wild instinct come to the fore,

as the dark closeness presses in upon the cabin’s

solitary guttering lamp.

It triggers, sympathetically, the need in my bitch

for some attention on my part, causing me to glance down

where, near to my chair and across from the hearth’s blaze,

my girl, shameless hussy that she is, rolls onto her back,

exposing herself in full intimate detail, in what is clearly

not a request, but a demand, for a belly rub.

She-who-must-be-obeyed has made her intent clear.

My job is also clear, as my fingers immerse themselves

in the soft husky fur that guards her underside.

Ah! Heaven in a stroke! The indescribable comfort that

is to be found in gently rubbing her soft belly is only

part of the process, for therein also lies my own reward:

A primal sense of comfort, bonding with a creature

who is more important to me than all the world’s wealth!

If there is indeed an all-knowing, omniscient God

of all creation, surely that entity foresaw the value

such moments have in making right the myriad wrongs

of this cruelly ordered world we humankinds endure.

In addition to leading my team, my Alpha girl is also

the best psychotherapist under Heaven’s gloriously vaulted skies!

And best of all, there’s no professional fee awaiting me

for her loving ministrations…