If only I could complain

I served my old mistress for 90,000 miles
And then this one for 6,000 miles.
I was groomed and fattened last summer
Only to be punished in New York
By honking cabs and potholes
By the heat wave that closed Kennedy airport
And spoiled food at Queens.

Later I was glad to get some rest
In Raleigh airport where silence
Was occasionally broken by rolling suitcases.
There I patiently waited for my master
Gladly splashing in some tropical water.

In autumn, I was back to work
And left under an old pine tree
And a young dogwood tree
Which showered me with crunchy branches,
And dead leaves glued to me by bird droppings.
Then in the mornings, Lizzie,
The neighbor’s feline, sat on me like a queen.
Finally on Blueberry Hill Road
I shivered in the cold outside
And was coated by frost in foggy mornings.

Now that I’m being groomed and fattened again
My insides scrubbed and my veins filled
I feel like summer’s coming again
And on eavesdropping, I learned about
My next mission: far north, south or west
My master’s unsure, but it sure is far
If only I could complain and tell her…
I’m not one who could run forever.
Jamison/03/04/07