Life's Adventures

Good grief, that prodigious energy, the
unabating curiosity, the enthusiasm
for probing every crevice and corner, 
the bouncing greeting for every new
creature, be it human or otherwise,
of a puppy newly introduced to the
puzzling, intriguing world around him
is both exhilarating and exhausting.
From the moment the first bark
is emitted and the small animal
steadily growing into itself,
learns to interpret and to respond
a new joy is found, to be teased
and treasured, impishly compelling
while understanding dawns and the
vocabulary of communication
steadily mounts until that time, both
all too soon, and not quite soon
enough, when the confident placidity of
maturity sets inevitably in and a
adventurous life-companion presents.