One time when I sat talking to a friend,
Our conversation turned to various things,
We talked of dogs and how they often lend
Companionship to ease life's many stings.
I still can see his face in thoughtful mood,
Grow tender, as he tried somehow to tell
Me how it seemed his dog had understood
His feelings when affairs had not gone well.
Said he, recalling times when he was blue,
Of how his dog had looked up to sympathize:
"There's something sorto' healing," -- just these few
Words told what he saw written in those eyes.
And through the years these word will stay with me,
A meaning many feel, but cannot say;
It took an unlearned man to set them free,
And yet, who could have found a better way?
Margaret E.Bruner