Under the sign of Aries

A stray dog adopted a man once in April, and because it happened in April, the man called the dog Aries.

Somewhere out there
in April fog he heard him
Whining to himself,
Wanting for a place to get inside.
It didn't matter much to him.
It wasn't his dog.

At the open door he waited
Quite polite
For word that he could come inside
And get his wet paws on the kitchen floor.
A bowl of water, no big thing for him.
It was not his dog.

Once licked dry
He looked up from the bowl
And wagged his tail at him,
And they became good friends.
Balm for a lonesome life, though still
It wasn't his dog.

Then, the dog saved his life
And lost his own.
That was seven years ago.
He lies now in the garden, the amsonia
Monument enough, he thinks.
It was not his dog.

Worst April in History

From Parts Left Over, more about April:

In April flowers bloomed, the April Fools,
And much too soon, or God knows why,
It may have been too late,
A sudden coldness snuffed their lives away
Without a word.
Now, naked, they will not see summer.
I held one on my hands a little while,
Not really knowing what to do.
This melancholy ache,
Not alone for petals
As they broke and fell away,
For I had watched them flower,
And beautiful,
I know I shall not see
The like of them again ...

Digging up ancient history

The other night, on the tube, a lawyer was advertising a CD that one could use to write one's will.

I recognized the lawyer as the man who represented O.J. Simpson at his arraignment after the murders in LA.

One of the first things the lawyer did was to present to the judge a brown envelope for admission to the evidence room for safe-keeping. I think the envelope contained the knife which was never found.

It was never found because it's locked away in the evidence room in LA.

Of course, when the high powered defence team took over, they never requested presentation of the brown envelope's contents. They may not have been aware of its existance. So the knife, probably with condemnatory traces of blood, is hidden safe forever by order of the arraigning judge.

April Showers, Snow, Hail, High Winds, Winter

It has been the worst April ever. We have broken all records for terrible weather.

Take heart, though. Here's an April Poem:

THROUGH MY OWENS-CORNING WINDOW

Every April it's the same.
Never fails.
The pool is not yet ready
For summer fun,
Its waters black
And clogged with floating leaves.
Confused,
These geese make their approach,
Flaps down--
Of course they're down--
They're geese.
They glide in smoothly
And they land.
A pair who mean to stay.
Sad to say,
Some weeks from now,
They will have to move away
With broken hearts
Before their young
Are old enough to fly.
Each year I promise to learn
The care and feeding
Of the baby geese,
The goslings.
But I do not
And would explain to them,
But they would never understand.

You can put your long underwear away, but keep your raincoat handy.