Archie and Tana

Archie and Tana

It is a family tradition now

And it’s been this way for years

After school Archie and Montana, take a walk

Archie, he just listens, Tana, she just talks

She tells him ‘bout her troubles

And says what makes her laugh

A lead hangs loosely from his neck

And loops back around her arm

He paces close beside her

He’s keeping her from harm

 

Walkers stop to greet them,

And Archie loves a pat

They talk about each other’s day,

Well, you know our Tana loves a chat

And while they are out walking,

In her head she sings a song

Around the corner and up the street,

Her troubles, quickly gone

Archie stops to sniff another dog,

He lifts his leg and smiles

Tana tugs his lead and walks

And Archie moves along.

 

He hears about her friends at school

What they like to say, and do

He hears about her teachers

And about the bullies too,

How their words and actions cruel

Her feelings are quite often hurt

And sometimes there’s bruise

Archie seems to understand her plight

His brown eyes stare up at her

And seem to question why

 

She sees her own reflection

Deep in his soft brown eyes

Our Tana’s getting smarter

Every day, she grows more wise

A growing girl with pretty looks

She is nobody’s fool

Archie, he just looks at her

As his lips, they fill with drool

 

She stops to buy an icecream

From a hot pink vending van

She buys one too, for Archie,

On the insistence of the man

Tana’s sitting on a park bench

An icecream in each hand

Both looking at the sunset

Clouds of red and crimson

Reflected in their view

An image of the houses

Floating on the lake

She nods to people walking by

And wonders about them too

 

This girl her dog and evening

Eating icecream by the lake

Across the water wafts

The smell of barbeque

Of chops, and sausages

Of onions mixed with mushroom

There’s bacon in there too

 

Tana’s thoughts are miles away

Archie lifts his paw to touch her arm

She lets him lick her icecream

And then she drops the cone

She gave it to him willingly

Two gulps, and it was gone

 

She hears someone singing

To the strains of their guitar

And in the corner of the park

She sees him strumming

He leans back against his car.

His song is one of love and loss

And aching of the heart

She smiles, and cuddles Archie

Back home, they have to start.

 

She drops a coin into his upturned hat

The music man, he nods and smiles

Never losing his rhythm or his beat

And there in that fleeting moment

Tana imagines dancing to his tune

Playing tambourine and singing

Or banging on a drum

A magpie warbles overhead

Drowning out the city’s hum

 

All the bullies in the world

Are now so far from her mind

All she wants to do is sing

To be with people who are kind.

Archie’s picking up the pace now

And he’s straining at his lead

Leading her down the street

To the butcher and a bone

This is a daily ritual

As Archie makes for home

Tom the butcher likes them both

And with Tana likes to chat

Archie doesn’t care about the talk

He is all about the bone

 

Soon back at home and

Archie’s lead is dropped

Mum growls about muddy prints

On a floor she’s freshly mopped

‘How was you walk?’ she asks

‘Yeah it was good, just tops.’

‘Better hit the homework then

before tea’ Mum says

‘You know, how your time flies’

 

Mum gives Archie’s back a rub,

And a scratch behind his ears

She lets her mind wander

To days of schoolyard bullies

And she hears their pain filled taunts

Feels the constant push and punch

She remembers lost and lonely thoughts

She remembers fending off the tease

But knew her vitality was shrinking

Under the bully’s constant jibes

 

Andy knows how much you need a friend

In a daughter’s ever changing world

And how close a friend this dog can be,

To her loving, growing girl

Again her mind drifts back

To those testing days of growing up,

Her old dog sat there by her side

His ears, all pricked and keen

For hours she told him all about

Her hopes, her fears. and all of her dreams

The memory lives within her still

It makes her strong and warm

As it has done for years.