MY GUARDIAN ANGEL

 

I was deep into a dream this morning…lost within its fog…when I was awakened rather suddenly by the barking of a dog.

I immediately recognized the bark of our dog Whitman…  I should have felt wonderful…although…I was a bit perplexed…you see Whitman passed away so many years ago.

Thinking Whitman woke me up was enough to make me scoff…until I noticed it was later than I usually rise and my alarm had not gone off.

I sat up…now awake and painfully aware…despite his barking to wake me up…Whitman wasn’t there.

When Whitman was alive, you see, each day…just before the sun…the two of us would wake up early and head out for a morning run.

They were more like morning jog and walks…we had no need for speed…sometimes we jogged where I wanted to jog…other times Whitman took the lead.

It was always in the early morning when Whitman and I headed out the door…and in all our years of jog/walking I never knew which one of us loved it more.

But Whitman is no longer with us…no longer here to get up with me before the sun…and as I’ve gotten older I tend to walk more than I run.

So what was Whitman doing inside my dream this morning…barking me awake…I mean I’d know that bark of his anywhere…it wasn’t a mistake.

I am not an expert but I think it’s plain to see…Whitman must still be taking his morning walk with me.

It must be a part of his routine Whitman wants to keep…and so this morning he started barking rather than let me oversleep.

I’ve been blessed with many guardian angels in my life…and I do my best to heed them…because they always seem to show up exactly when I need them.

It was this morning…while in a dream…lost within its fog I realized one of my guardian angels…was Whitman…our old dog.

And as I walked with my invisible guardian angel this morning…composing this very rhyme…I thought to myself after all these years…who knew…Whitman could tell time.