Before we had Bouli, our first dog,
I’d visit each day the Botanic Garden –
For me a natural synagogue,
Or Eden, where I’d feel Earth’s pardon.
Since dogs are not admitted there,
The local Valley of the Cross
Became instead our thoroughfare,
With its ancient aura and modern dross.
Dear Bouli is an easy walker
And genial to every critter;
She doesn’t fear the jackals stalk her.
Her only flaw, she eats the litter.
She may have made the valley cleaner,
When snatching trash despite my noes;
But, then again, she’d be much leaner
Had she left those scraps for cats and crows.
Today she lives in Ramat Gan
And we have Milky, the wild “bear”;
According to Tamar and Dan,
Garbage is just as widespread there.
Jerusalem
9 February 2023