“The Lost Dog and the Golden Key, Part One” by Bob Rich
“The Lost Dog and the Golden Key, Part One” by Bob Rich
Once, there was a small girl with a dog,
A young, cheerful golden retriever,
Together, they had the best times,
She hoped that he never would leave her,
They would run through the park in the day,
And they’d stroll ‘neath the moon in the night,
The dog would fetch baseballs and frisbees,
Which she’d throw ‘cross the yard with delight,
Her mom and dad both were so busy,
With their work and their hobbies and cars,
Her brother wore sunglasses daily,
With his whole life spent playing guitars,
But, the girl had a kind local friend,
A lady who taught art technique,
She worked down the street as a florist,
So, the girl would go visit each week,
She would go show the florist new tricks,
That she’d just taught her pet dog to do,
Like leaping through hoops made from paper,
Which the lady’d paint with stars of blue,
The young girl liked the dog very much,
And, each night, she’d give him a small bone,
And then, she’d say, “Usted tiene
La llave de mi corazón,”
In English, it translates as follows:
She’d say, “You have the key to my heart,”
And, in fact, she was speaking the truth,
And they rarely were ever apart,
Yet, times came when she’d play with the dog,
And he’d have a lost look in his eyes,
He’d seem restless and so far away,
And it filled the girl with lonely sighs,
Then, one day, her dad came to her room,
And he gave her some startling news,
He explained that the dog ran away,
And this wrapped up her heart in the blues,
She looked far and wide for her dog,
In the park, by the sea, through the hills,
She’d even search late in the night-time,
‘Til the cool evening air gave her chills,
Her dad made her brother make posters,
Which they posted up all over town,
The poster displayed the dog’s picture,
And so, soon, the dog was quite renowned,
At night, on her way to her bedroom,
She’d collapse on her dog’s empty bed,
She’d wrap her arms ‘round her dog’s blanket,
Then stand up with her eyes moist and red,
But then, one night, she climbed into bed,
And she slowly slipped off to a dream,
She found herself in a large forest,
Brightly lit with strong rays of sunbeam,
The tall trees were all green fragrant pines,
And she saw, flapping by, a white dove,
Then, she felt a slight chill from behind,
So, she turned ‘round and looked up above,
And a fog was descending in mist,
Sending snow on the tops of the trees,
And the pines started turning bright white,
And she suddenly felt a cold breeze,
So, she started to run from the snow,
Which is when she began to hear bells,
And she ran toward these musical sounds,
With her heart in emotional swells,
‘Til soon she ran out from the forest,
And ran into a meadow, alone,
Where, straight ahead, waiting before her,
A big grandfather clock brightly shone,
And she walked toward the clock, unafraid,
While its chimes still rang out like a gong,
When, at last, she stood next to the clock,
It silenced its vibrating song,
In the quiet, she saw a gold key,
Which was dangling there at the clock’s side,
And she peeked just behind the tall clock,
Where the meadow’s green grasses stretched wide,
Then, again, she stood facing the clock,
And she grabbed the key, shining with light,
The clock had a doorknob and keyhole,
So, she put in the key; turned it right:
The front of the clock gently opened!
Like a door that had softly swung free,
When she fully had opened the door,
There was something familiar to see:
The door led to the town’s flower shop,
Where, weekly, the girl went to visit,
And the kind lady florist was there,
And she said, “You look troubled. What is it?”
The girl walked a little bit closer,
And she said, “Well, my dog ran away,”
The lady replied, “I’m so sorry,
I sure hope that he comes back someday,”
Then the girl felt aware and intrigued,
And, she asked, “Hey, is this just a dream?”
The lady said, “Yes, but there’s good news,
You are not as alone as it seems,”
The girl asked her, “You’re really here, then?”
And the woman said, “Yes, dear, it’s true –
Don’t you know, in the Bible, it says
That, in dreams, angels can comfort you?”
“You’re an angel!” the girl said, in awe,
And her eyes both grew wide with delight,
The woman just winked and she smiled,
Then, she whispered, “That’s our secret, right?”
The girl asked, “Could you please just tell me,
If my pet dog will ever come home?
He left and he took my heart with him,
So, I look and I search and I roam,”
The lady then took the girl’s hand,
When she gently confided this part,
“I don’t know, dear, but I believe: God
Is the one who deserves your whole heart,
“I think that if we can completely,
Give our hearts to the Father above,
Then we will have our hearts protected,
When we can’t be with others we love.”
And the lady then gave her a gift,
A nice painting of her canine pup,
The lady said, “Cherish your mem’ries,
And, draw this, once it’s time to wake up,”
The girl closely studied the painting,
And then, when she hugged her kind friend,
She could feel her friend’s plush angel wings,
As the dream softly came to an end,
She woke up while clutching her pillow,
Then, she got up from bed and she drew:
A carefully-crafted fine portrait,
Of her dog – which the dream helped her do,
And then, she could hear, “Who wants pancakes?”
So, she washed up and brushed back her hair,
And when she strolled by her dog’s blanket,
She just gave a quick pat to it there,
And when she arrived to the kitchen,
She could see that her dad held a box,
She ran to the table like lightning,
Just as fast as the cleverest fox,
And she opened the box and beheld,
A gold key, strung on a gold necklace,
Her dad said, “It’s our house key, in gold,
Just for you, now let’s have some breakfast,”
While her dad busily cooked at the stove,
She felt peace as the sun came in sight,
And golden rays, like God’s Shekinah,
Filled the room in warm heavenly light. (To be continued…)
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