The wobbly dog
liked to lie on the rug
stretched out by the fire
all cosy and snug
He’d look tired and sleepy
and wrinkly and slow
But inside of his mind
he was raring to go
He’d lie on his tum
and he’d dream and he’d dream
of running through forests
and dashing through streams
Of chasing the rabbits
and hunting the hares
Wild and free
in a life with no cares
But Wobbly Dog
had a job and a wife
He had no time
for a wild, free life
There were the puppies
One, Two and Three
And he and his wife
raised their dog family
They worried and worked
as they struggled to give
their pups all the things
that are needed to live
Their cares wore them down
their backs, they would bend
“A dog’s life,” they said,
“is all work without end”
“We always feel tired
and worn out and fussed
We struggle to finish
the things that we must”
“We’ve owners to walk
and postmen to threaten
Sticks to fetch
and lamp-posts to wet on”
“We’ve got bones to gnaw
and tails to chase
And children to lick
all over the face”
“There are kittens to scare
and slippers to chew
And woofing and barking
and growling to do”
They worked and they worked
every day of their life
but Wobbly Dog loved
his wobbly wife
And his wobbly pups
numbers One, Two and Three
would fill him with joy
as they sat on his knee
So Wobbly Dog hugged
his pups and his wife
and said, “Don’t let’s worry
or moan about life”
“Remember,” he said
“It’s more than it seems
There’s a wonderful time
to be had in our dreams”
And at night, while they slept
he would lie on his paunch
and off to the land of his dreams
he would launch
For he had a world
inside of his head
A place he could go to
when all were in bed
A land where he ran
at the head of a pack
with squirrels to chase
and foxes to track
Where lesser dogs cowered
at the might of his howl
And enemies fled
at the hint of a scowl
His teeth, they were sharper
His claws, they were red
in this wild, free land
inside of his head
And each night, while the pups
lay asleep in their beds
They too went to lands
deep inside of their heads
They would play and they’d laugh
on adventures galore
with running and howling
and hunting and more
For the magic of dreams
will set little minds free
and take them to places
where they want to be
And even for grown-ups
the same thing is true
They also have things
that they long to do
And though Wobbly Dog
looked so sleepy and slow
the inside of his mind
was magic and so
with his wobbly pups
and his wobbly wife
and his dreams, he lived out
a perfect dog’s life.
(c) inkyjim
inkyjim 