My dog

My dog worries about me.
I know this.
In the morning when I wake
She stands by the bed.
And tries to lick me.
As I fumble through the house
She follows me
And lays by my side
When I pause.
She watches me shower and dress
And whines
When I look at myself to long in the mirror.
She wants me to walk her
But not so much for the walk itself.
She wants me to get outside of myself
And appreciate the beauty
Of the morning.
So many times I am running late
And cannot walk her.
She looks sad
But not so much for herself
As for me.
If I come home at lunch
She is surprised
And so happy at the chance
To pull me away from myself.
We walk and she sniffs
All the things that make this day
Different from the last.
She looks back at me constantly
Hoping I can smell the difference too.
If I rush her along the way
And never stop to see the beauty
She is sad again.
When I leave to return to work
She tries for a scratch behind the ears
Not just because she likes it
But she wants to slow me down.
When I come home at the end of the day
She is excited.
She jumps and pushes against me.
We walk and she dances around my legs.
She smells every other patch of grass
And looks back at me
Hoping I can enjoy the scents as well.
Back at home, I hit the computer
And she lies by my side.
She groans every now and then
To remind me that the computer
Isn’t that important.