the balance beam

he’s an older gent of Asian descent

with a cute brown curly haired dog

a poodle, if I were to guess

I see them from my balcony every evening

my heart feels a little lighter every time I do

him in his tank top and shorts

his poodle looking up at him every few secs with that half smile half open mouth dogs wear

and then the old man does what he do…

takes to the wood beam which separates the sidewalk from the grass in our neighborhood courtyard

he does this every day

without fail

and the dog knows to move to the left to make sure his human is able to hop up onto the beam without strain

a perfect hop

not a misstep to be made throughout his entire duration walking the beam

10/10 I say in my mind, every time

it’s their daily routine

the walk

the bond

the balance beam

and I wonder who this older gent was in his younger years

and why he decides to keep up with his agility

and he doesn’t realize

there’s a woman two flights up on her balcony looking down at him with the same admiration his dog seems to provide him every few secs