Tennis Ball

The tennis ball.

The essential item in the dog’s toy box.

The lifespan of the tennis ball.

Throw, fetch, endless running, slobbering on the nylon shell, sticky fingers.

The ball that is lost.

The ball that is chewed apart.

The ball that is mown to pieces by the park keeper.

There they lay, in their grassy grave.

What stories they could tell, of the play they had with their dog, back when they were the number one toy.