Arthritis
If at night I stray in thought,
dreaming of nimble fingers
and my departed dog’s walk,
will you smile
when I scratch his absent ear
and apologize for the times
I failed him? Even combined,
all the words in these unread books
could never soothe the guilt
of leisure and complacency, nor
match the joy of jumping
for the kicked ball, no matter the
outcome, despite the consequences.
“Arthritis” is included in Indra’s Net: An International Anthology of Poetry in Aid of The Book Bus, and has appeared on the blog as well.
All profits from this anthology published by Bennison Books will go to The Book Bus, a charity which aims to improve child literacy rates in Africa, Asia and South America by providing children with books and the inspiration to read them.
Available at Amazon (UK) and Amazon (US)
O at the Edges 
Unseenmemes.wordpress.com
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Beautiful.
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Thank you, Ellen!
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This might be a nice time to say that periodically I forward your poems to friends. It’s rare to find genuine poetry–as opposed to crap cut into short lines–on the internet. I take what you do seriously, and I’m grateful for it.
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You’ve made my week, Ellen. Thank you.
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So beautiful and full of meaning. Love your words, always!
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Thank you, Linda!
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Just beautiful words… your stuff always reads easy 😉 I love your work, keep it coming!
~ @illenius
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This reminds me of watching our old dog struggle – little did I know I would one day know how she felt
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Oh, how I understand!
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Nicely written
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Thank you.
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You are welcome
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superb
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Thank you.
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ah yes, the joy of being in the game, no matter what. I tried this one on and it fit, so I think I’ll walk out of the store with it. What would you like in return?
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A smile and a nod. Or a slice of pineapple, the thought of which is making my mouth water. 😀
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Excellent account of gentle regret. The tone reminded me of this Philip Larkin poem, hope you don’t mind the share:
As Bad as a Mile
Watching the shied core
Striking the basket, skidding across the floor,
Shows less and less of luck, and more and more
Of failure spreading back up the arm
Earlier and earlier, the unraised hand calm,
The apple unbitten in the palm.
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Love the share. Thank you, David.
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