Another Altogether

That's Cooper.
He is keeping our house
safe from tigers.

There is a jaguar
somewhere down around
Sonoita, who is keeping
the Coronado National Forest
safe for the Canadian
mining firm that wants
to dig an open pit,
but we are in town
and we have not seen
a tiger, neither before
nor since Cooper
came to keep us safe.

We do have javelinas,
and bobcats, and coyotes,
and even a sky full of hawks
of worrying size,
to say nothing of snakes,
but no tigers; no sir,
not with Cooper here!

But while Cooper
is issuing a barkload
of proclamations to
every passing critter,
Mari and I worry about
the bobcats and coyotes
that--unlike our guardian--
can hop over our fence.
No tigers, of course--
that is Cooper's forte´--
but who are fiercer even
than our noble dog.
And bigger.

It comes to mind that the same guy who wrote the book,
"May this House be Safe from Tigers", also wrote,
"Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver". I cannot remember his name.
Ah, well. Like Cooper, life is a trade-off.

No, I looked it up. Jack Douglas did not write, "May this House...."
He did write, "The Neighbors are Scaring My Wolf", though,
but that is another blog post, altogether.

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