Dogs don’t like to be hugged,

Or so it is said.

The human embrace, so foreign,

Suffocates, imprisons,

Threatens a remanent, intractable instinct;

A steadfastly enduring

latent rebellion,

Fiercely resisting complete surrender

To ownership, submission.

In truth, each dog has a fractured limit,

A scrimmage line where tame and wild collide.

Trust takes this line, blurs it,

Patiently redefines.

The wildness may push back,

Nourished, emboldened by fear, distrust,

Regaining lost ground.

The unbroken spirit mobilizes,

Resurgent, reinvigorated,

In the space of a heartbeat.

And so it continues,

This ageless dialogue

Predicated on precious faith,

On absolute honesty.

Perfectly imperfect.