As a daily dog-walker along the OBE “Rabbit Trail” to Chaster Park, I have occasionally chatted with other dog-walkers and come to know some of the other “regulars.” If disclose that I write the Elphinstone Chronicles, they occasionally share a gripe. Once a non-dog walker complained about the owners not picking up after their pets. I myself have not seen so much of it along my route, but a gripe is a gripe, so there you have it.
But what so you see on the other marvellous trails in Elphi? Tell me, please. Send me an email with your gripe about irresponsible dog walkers. Include your neighbourhood and let’s brainstorm a way to shame these reprobates and keep our pathways free of DS!
I also occasionally spit out a poem just for my elder self, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few other Elphinstonians were also closet poets. I will now shamelessly offer you my latest on Dogs, (with an apologetic nod to a Holy Scripture you can easily guess), and then ask for forgiveness instead of permission:
My Dog is My Walker
My Dog is my walker; I shall not fall.
He maketh me to breathe in green forests;
He leadeth me along the ocean shore;
He restoreth my bone density:
He leadeth me in the paths of other dogs,
for His own sake.
Yea, though I walk the trail and see dog poop, I will fear not to step in it:
For He guideth me around it, as I lean the other way,
His leash and His harness they save me.
Thou barkest only in the presence of Your enemies: the squirrels;
Thou anointest my carpets with Dog hair;
My bank account is overdrawn.
Surely He will follow me and I will feed him all the days of our lives:
And I hope He will dwell in my house forever.
Any poets out there who can write a poem they would like to share with me, please email them to me: [email protected]. If I get a lot of poems, our editor might select a grand prize winner whose poem may be printed in the Elphinstone Chronicles. She’s the Boss.
As you see from my example, the poems can be funny or solemn or irreverent but should be about or related to some feature of Elphinstone life in summer. If you can write, write to me!
Well, those are my poetic confessions strewn here on the page for all to see. Oh, and one more thing. As I mentioned in my first column on March 14, my position at Coast Reporter is a volunteer one that I’ve accepted as interim contributor. If you live in Elphinstone and have any journalistic inclinations, please give some thought to submitting an essay about Elphinstone. We hope to find a new columnist by the end of the year.
Now go walk your dog.
