In memory of Skeeter…
On an unusual dog day in November,
but like any other day of the year
I wanted to do one thing
and that was play with a ball, a nice little sphere
My person came along with a brand new ball
It was fresh, soft, so green, and still bare
I begged and jumped and then sat very still
until the ball went flying straight through the air
I chased the ball throughout the brush
and found a squirrel collecting some nuts
“Have you seen a pretty green ball?” I asked.
The squirrel said, “I won’t tell you, not even over my dead guts!”
I barked the squirrel up a tree, and yelled
“I need my ball as much as you need your acorns!”
“Oh, then find your dirty ball behind my tree,” he said
And I jumped at my ball and ran out through the thorns
This time my person threw the ball toward the beach
I was so happy there, digging up all the sand,
that I nearly stepped on a turtle slowly walking home
“Sorry,” I said, “just looking for my ball, can you give me a hand?”
The turtle shook his head and asked, “Why bother?”
I said, “Because without a ball to play with, like you without a shell, I won’t have a purpose.”
“I’m not a porpoise nor a tortoise! I’m a turtle and there’s your ball.”
He stuck out his head and I got my sand-covered ball out of the mess
The last throw landed the ball in the cold water
where I dove in and I knew no one could bother me
But then a fish showed up and mumbled,
“What the heck are you doing in my sea?”
“My ball is floating somewhere here,” I barked.
“Why would you care about some wet ball?” asked the fish.
“It’s what I love to play with, like you with bubbles.”
“It’s right behind you, good luck!” he wished.
I found my ball and ran to my person
Dirty, wet, and tired, I dropped my ball and laid down
I love to chase my ball, even when I can’t catch it,
but even without my ball, I never wear a frown
Because the squirrel has acorns, and the turtle has a shell,
the fish has bubbles, and the others have something, no matter how small
We don’t always understand each other, but we accept it all with smiles,
because making someone else happy is better than any old ball
