As he followed the Chocolate Lab
out the back door into the early light,
white and cold of the winter solstice

and the pine grove, his shoes made
a crunching noise on the snowy cushion
of brittle needles. The man winced,

but said nothing, as the dog peed on
a newly planted white pine intended,
in time, to replace an old red pine. The

dog, instinctively, scraped the earth
with his paws alerting other dogs to
his attractiveness, went down into what

was once a small pond, finished his
morning’s constitution, once again
scraped his paws and trotted back

toward the house eager for his break-
fast which he only knew as the word
“dinner.” As the man turned toward

the house, he heard the wind chime on
the balcony. The familiar music was
pleasant on his ears as he said, “Let’s

go, boy. Want some dinner?” The dog
jumped and romped, the sound on the
frozen ground drowning out the chime.