Born of Siberia

White dog that breeds white they called you,
A thousand years ago
On the frozen plains of Siberia.
How long before
Did you first join forces with the human kind?
The answer is lost in the blizzards of time.

Far preceding that first human companion,
Your ancient ancestors roamed those plains,
         Fierce and free,
         White as the snow,
         Bright eyes keen to catch the slightest movement,
         Pointed ears turned to catch the smallest sound,
In a landscape empty and silent to duller eyes and ears,
         Nose noting a multitude of smells,
         Brain sorting it all,
Into an ordered world of life
Held firm against the extremes of Nature.

That was centuries ago,
And half a world away from you,
Our bushy tailed guest.
And yet it seems 10,000 years are but a minute,
For watching you I see,
That you remember!

R. W. Park
1/15/98

(Dedicated to K. Krasna Katrina, our Samoyed)

                                          

To collected poetry