Dog Watched

Dog watched
As his person walked away from him
Making jingling noises as he walked
Wearing a silver baggy suit

Dog watched
As his person walked around the flying machine
Touching and looking at things
Finally climbing inside and closing the door

Dog hid in the footwell of the truck
When the engines started
Making dusty winds and loud noise
Not standing and peering over the door again
Until the noise had faded to a lower level

Dog watched
As the flying machine went faster along the ground
Quite far away
Leaving a trail of white dust along the lakebed in it's wake
Finally leaving the earth

Dog watched
The flying machine pull up into a steep climb
Growing smaller and smaller in Dog's eyes
Until it was a black speck in the sky

Dog watched
A white line suddenly appear behind the tiny black speck
Hearing some seconds later a faint rumbling in the distance
The white line extending towards the rising sun
Until that too was lost in the distance

There was nothing more for Dog to watch

So Dog lay down in the shade of the dashboard
In the topless Chevrolet pickup truck
To wait for his person to return
Dog closed his eyes and took a short nap

Dog heard
The crunching of gravel
A vehicle turning off the main highway
Jumping up with his feet on the dashboard
Dog poked his head above the windshield
Barking a hello, and a warning that this was his area all at once

Dog watched
As two people got out of the car
Dog knew them by sight
Confirmed by scent soon after
These were some of the people from the place with green grass
Dog wagged his tail
Accepting the petting and scratching the younger person gave him
The other person taking the envelope off the windshield

The envelope that said
"Read Me"

Although Dog wouldn't have known that

Dog watched
Looking from one person to the other
As one read from the papers in the envelope
The other still petting him and listening
The two people exchanged strange looks with one another

Dog watched
As the older person climbed back in the car
The younger one climbing into the driver's seat of the truck
Dog licked his face in welcome
Wagging his tail as the truck was started up and pulled out onto the highway
Following the other car driving north

Dog put his front paws on the driver's side door mirror
His whole upper body out in the wind
Tongue trailing behind his open mouth
Smelling all the desert smells
Excitedly hoping he was going to get to play
In that grassy backyard once again