An Ode To Blackjack

For those of you who haven’t heard the tale, the goat in my Gravatar is Blackjack. The folks who live behind us raise goats, and we gave them permission to graze him on our far back yard. I got to know and really like the old goat (pun intended), and he grew to like me more than his owner! Blackjack became a running joke on several of the blogs I follow, a Zen master of great wisdom, and ferocious defender of goats everywhere. When he disappeared late last year, I got the mistaken idea he had been put out to stud. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I learned that Blackjack had died. So, as a thank you to all who have shown me such patience, and to future comers, I give you – An Ode To Blackjack.

Ode To Blackjack

How unlike, you and I.
Me, a big-city boy,
You, a small-town gent.
Worlds apart, and yet
Somehow we knew.

You knew, when we met,
That your trademark stubborness
Wouldn’t work on me,
Just as I knew my slick-talk
Wouldn’t work on you.

So we got to know each other.
I gave you sympathy, you gave me an ear.
We traded trivialities
And the secrets of the universe.

We grew to be friends,
Closer than we thought possible.
You watched for my visits,
And I brought you on my blog visits.

Then winter came, and you left.
I thought you had gone
To your well-earned retirement,
To sun with young lovelies and play.

But come late spring,
I learned the truth.
You had left this earth,
And I was left without

My buddy,
My confidant,
My mentor,
The Goat who always
Got me.