Winter Games

Like a madcap Loony Tunes
version of Huskies harmonized
and harnessed in an Iditarod
there they are, the ragtag five
muffin-sized doglets separately
leashed and firmly held in
"control" by their middle-aged
walker, nicely bundled in
downfilled jacket, toque and 
mittens, galumphing every
which way in a discord of direction,
exerting their will, not hers,
hauling the smiling woman
after them, skittering left
then right, across the icy
woodland trail, she pleading
half-heartedly for a break,
they finally accommodating to
a screeching halt as she
careens on her dignified backside
down a snowy slope,
whooping like a child.