Three Walks with Pipes

Three times a day, we crossed the shore,
Midmorning haze and afternoon heat.
By midnight, oceans surged and roared,
While Pipes kept rhythm near my feet.

She watched the ocean shift and rise,
Unsure each time the waves gave chase.
Concern would settle in her eyes,
Yet still she stayed beside my pace.

She loved the water near her paws,
Would step in close, then leap away.
The surf rolled in without a pause;
She danced its edge in comic sway.

Breakers pulled themselves back thin,
She’d creep beside me, calm yet bold.
But once they rushed back sharply in,
She sprang from water’s sudden cold.

Sticks could pull her through her doubt.
Instinct would fire; her focus locked.
She’d chase the rolling swells far out,
Then race back proud along the dock.

One night we slept beside the ocean.
The water breathed beyond the sand.
Pipes pressed close against my side,
And dreamed beneath my quiet hand.