Snowed in with Jenkins

So we can and have gotten out of the house during this latest snowstorm, but for the most part Ryan and I have been catching up on projects “behind the scenes” and staying bundled up at home. While we’re typing and editing away in front of our computers, Jenkins stays collapsed on the sofa, snoozing through the day. Sometimes Ryan and I break so we can go over and kiss his forehead or snuggle next to a warm, floppy ear, but always waking him from his sleep. Other times we go to approach him, and just can’t bare to rouse him.

Here’s a poem that Ryan shared with me today that captures the spirit of these moments:

beagle by Charles Bukowski

do not bother the beagle lying there
away from grass and flowers and paths,
dreaming dogdreams, or perhaps dreaming
nothing, as men do awake;
yes, leave him be, in that simple juxtaposition,
out of the maelstrom, lucifugous as a bat,
searching bat-inward
for a state of grace.

it’s good. we’ll not ransom our fate
or his for door knobs or rasps.
the east wind whirls the blinds,
our beagle snuffles in his sleep as
outside, outside,
hedges break, the night torn mad
with footsteps.

our beagle spreads a paw,
the lamp burns warm
bathed in the life of his
size.

Jenkins at 2.5 months old