Sunday Reading :: Week 8

And.....I'm back with Sunday Reading. For your reading pleasure this week we have a truly brilliant epithalamium by Taylor Mali, go and check out his site NOW. That's an order. And if you own a dog I dare you to read this and not smile and think "how true" at least once.

Falling in love is like owning a dog
an epithalamion by Taylor Mali www.taylormali.com

First of all, it's a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you're walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain't no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know Don't you ever do that again!

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you
until you're all wound up and can't move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

Is this not the most brilliant poem you have ever read?

As we all know, blog posts are always better with pictures and so it only seemed appropriate to have some dog photos to accompany this post. Paul and I were headed out for an afternoon of Maine, shopping, winery visiting etc but I had 3 minutes outside with the dogs and my macro lens. For those new to the blog, Coco Chanel (black dog) is slightly deranged, extremely skittish and nervous but beyond loyal once you have her trust. Tiger Woods (brown dog) is flirtatious, contrary, eternally happy and insanely cute. I think I'll continue with the above theme to describe each picture (apologies to Taylor Mali, if you read this you'll understand why I'm a photographer and not a poet):

Sometimes love comes barreling towards you at full speed and you have no choice but to return it: