You had a brier stuck in your paw 

We were trotting down the sand dune

It made me think of the Apostle Paul 

A thorn in the side 

I knew something was wrong when I threw your frisbee and you cried 

It pained me to see you hobble 

I went down to the water where you were and plucked out that spiny thorn with my fingers 

It pierced me too

But I stuffed it into a glass bottle 

My fingertip bled 

So did your paw pad 

But we chucked that brier-carrying bottle into the bay – our promised land 

I thought about what Paul said: Rejoice always 

And we followed, from the sand 

What a time we had

Finally plunging into the healing water 

I thanked the Father 

For a day with my dog at the beach 

For storms, for dunes, even for the briers within our reach