Running hard for air that whispers
Hair trigger dog ears hurt so much
When the crunch came and the
Door truly opened the merest touch
The pull of the magic words slows
And no longer need be heard
Heel is where you have to go
As every good boy learns to heed
This place is so very, very big
And river far too wide to splash
It smells of things that bite you back
Big dogs barking across the glass
Wide eyed and leg tailed
Licking any master’s face
Not bad, not bad, slinking back
Every good dog knows its place
But the shadow dog it leaves behind
It will not sit and will not stay
Unleashed among the bluebells
Chasing rabbits up to Halfway