Black Dog Running Poem by Ray Lucero

Today while driving a rural road
just a few minutes from my house,
I saw a black dog running toward me on
the right shoulder of the road,
Although it was but a split-second,
the black dog’s eyes met mine…

I asked myself;
Where is he going?
What’s his name?
What’s his purpose?
What does he think about?
What does he feel?

Is the black dog a metaphor for me?

I asked myself:
Where am I going?
What’s my name?
What’s my purpose?
What do I think about?
What do I feel?

Am I a metaphor for the black dog?

How does the black dog help balance nature?
How do I help balance nature?

I then realized,
The black dog and I were,
one and the same! Two creatures,
defining the present and future in
any given moment with our aliveness!

“Life, not purpose is what really matters”

I glanced at the rear view mirror
and saw the black dog grow
smaller and smaller,
His tail was happily wagging,
and seemed to say…

“Glad to see that you finally get it, Ray”


ROTMS