Our Little Prince

Our Little Prince

He squats over the cracks of our driveway
and for a while he is ruler of a tiny kingdom
whose subjects run rampant as he swishes
his dimpled right hand over their sandy dwellings.

As he spies three mourning doves waddling by
he shrieks Duck! Duck! While standing on tiptoe
and twisting to see whether we’ve observed
his cleverness at finding these impostors out.

Upon entering our home, he laughs heartily at Sadie,
our beagle, whose exuberant tail wagging and wet nose
translate into a royal welcome to which he responds
by burying his nose in her fur and plying her with kisses.

He scampers across the kitchen and points to the cupboard
while entreating me with eh! eh! For the usual cache of raisins
or animal crackers that he knows await the regal appetite
of a tiny nobleman who has dominion over his memere’s heart.