Note: At a recent meeting of my 70+ (now 80+!) group of women, our assignment was to share “keepers,” in other words moments in our lives, past or present, that brought us joy. Mine are in this poem.

There was the time recently

When Luna and I were on

A visit to the County Jail

And she remembered a

Young man from another

Visit and curled up 

Against him, and when he

Moved on to another dog

She went over and licked 

His ear as if to say, come

Back to me, we have a

Special bond. And he grinned.

And on that same visit I

Can see the tattooed

Young man rolling on

The floor with a blind

Dog who knew him

By his smell and brought

To him moments of

Pure joy and a memory

Of the outside world.

And then there were

Those hours on a 

Sunday afternoon when

We celebrated poetry

And women’s friendships,

A gift from my family

That will never be

Forgotten as I see

Each face and hear

Each voice and immerse

Myself in the memory

Of a perfect gift.