stray dogs

a stray dog comes
into your life.
usually it's been
the other way around.
you, straggling in from
the cold, into the comfort
of a stranger's home,
no collar, no leash,
no tag to let them know
who you are or where
you've been. they feed you
and brush your tangled
hair, give you water.
they talk nicely to you,
as if you too could speak
their language.
but you don't stay long.
the road is your true
home. the wandering
is who you are,
but now this stray
enters into your life,
what is there to do,
but the same,
knowing that she too will
one day go.