<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">A Dog On His Master</span><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve; font-size: 22px;"><br></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">As young as I look,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">I am growing older faster than he,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">seven to one</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">is the ratio they tend to say.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Whatever the number,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">I will pass him one day</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">and take the lead</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">the way I do on our walks in the woods.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">And if this ever manages</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">to cross his mind,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">it would be the sweetest</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">shadow I have ever cast on snow or grass.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><div style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></div><div style="font-size: 22px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Billy Collins</div></div></div></body></html>