She hurt her knee
When he knocked her over
Because elderly people
And bundles of energy
Are a bad mix.

So we ran the hose
And he got his golden feet
All dirty
And got all of our hands
The rough, wrinkled ones
And the soft, young ones
Dirty too
As we tried
To hold him still
Long enough
To sign her card.

Yes,
That muddy streak was
A golden retriever's
Apology.

You hurt me
With your verbal abuse
But you're my father.
We can't be
A bad mix.

So I live with it
You yell those words
That are
All dirty
And have made our vocabularies,
The once innocent ones,
Dirty too.
We try
To have opinions
But it hurts
To always be
Proved wrong

But
You're not a dog.
A pawprint
Won't suffice for your
Apology.