Dog is God Spelled Backwards

When I meditate or pray, I love to do so lying down, my body laying on the earth body. And I especially love it when my dog comes and joins me, laying her body on my body.

She settles into sleep and we breathe together. Our shared joining calms both of us.

This week I decided to write a poem about it. The title came to me afterwards, when I remembered my friend Cynthia and how she says we could substitute the word 'dog' for the word God, as dogs are such extraordinary examples of unconditional love.

Dog is God Spelled Backwards by Karly Randolph Pitman

It's your favorite way to pray:
your dog, curled against your chest,

lying on the pink shabby couch.
The blanket wrapped across your lap

reeks of wet animal as you sink into
the welcome ripeness. Your dog nudges

your hand to rub her head. She arches
her neck, up and back, grunting in delight,

then lays on your belly. Your joined breath
rises and falls. You lay one hand

on your heart, one on her small body,
feel the quiet there.

It's easy to lay your hand on your dog
and trust her goodness –

the warm weight of her body,
her soft sighs as she settles into sleep.

You're learning to trust your own goodness –
your simple beauty as you lie on the couch.

You breathe, weighted by black fur,
until your fears uncoil –

until you remember that you're enough,
until you're soaked in love. Then you rise,

shaking off the day's troubles
like your dog leaving the pond,

her tail turned towards home.

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With a grateful heart, Karly