Freeze frame

Day 17: think about dogs you have known, seen, or heard about, and then use them as a springboard into wherever they take you.

Many years ago, my sister gave me a copy of a much treasured tiny, old, black and white photo of our parents, when they were first engaged.  It was taken on the farm where my father was evacuated during the second World War,  and where he took his fiancée to show her off to his 'second parents', Ma and Pop, who eventually became our much loved 'third grandparents'. 


He sits, front-centre between them, 
Shaggy black coat towards the camera,
As he gazes up at the young man's eyes,
Head resting on an unresponsive left hand. 
The man has no eyes for his loyal friend, 
His right arm circles a pretty girl's waist, 
His head almost but not quite touching hers,
Both happy, smiling at the camera.
They sit on the steps of a dark doorway,
Flowers creeping up pale stone walls to either side,
Captured forever in that moment, 
Elegant in their '40s fashions.
That loyal dog knew my parents well
As I never would; in their first flush of love.

© Copyright 2022. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

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