TO SLEEP
(A sonnet by William Wordsworth’s dog)
A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by,
One after one; the sound of music, and rain
All of these are soothing ways to gain,
A moment of relaxing slumber under the night sky;
I, however, need none of these things to snooze
For I am a dog who possess the basic canine skill,
Of being able to lounge around and sleep at will;
Regardless of the time and place, I will not lose,
A single moment of my precious nap
Whether in a bed, on a couch, or under a tree,
And especially in my favorite spot…..your lap,
I can reach doggie dreamland with ease;
Where there are endless belly rubs and head pats,
And absolutely no existence of pesky fleas.
I’m pretty sure my dog has narcolepsy. He sleeps like 25 hours a day, which seems impossible since there are only 24 hours in a day, but somehow he has managed to find a way. He’s getting old, so the only things he really likes doing besides napping is eating and going for a walk. He does still play with toys some, but he usually falls asleep with them in his mouth.
Not to mention that he can make a bed out of anything. Just this week alone, he has figured out how to make a bed out of a blanket on the floor, laying on the weeds in my flower garden (had I known how much weeding a flower garden required I probably would not have planted one – mainly because I’m lazy), sleeping while resting his head on the garbage can, and knocking off a pillow on my bed onto the floor so he could lay on it.
I like old dogs though. This type of behavior is much more conducive to my lifestyle, which also involves a lot of napping. I would love to write more, but I have to put my dog Pedro down for a nap. Enjoy your next snooze!
Stephanie Walters 