DALMATIAN INVASION

It was a formal fire station,
In our suit coat uniforms we were dressed.
For it was a Memorial Day celebration,
And we held a tour for honored guests.

Then we lined up for the nine o’clock start
Of our annual Guardians of Freedom Parade,
Which made its way down to Arlington Park,
Where we’d pay respect to the fallen and brave.


Gus tossed candy to the children
From his perch on our ladder truck way up on top.
Max was riding an engine,
But jumped down in pursuit of the motorbike cop.

We arrived at the memory gardens,
And assembled by Placid Woods Pond
To remember our comrades departed,
Who served both at home and defended abroad.


We stood at attention
For a moment of silence,
Then rang a bell for the veterans,
The heroic soldiers and sailors and pilots.

Then Chief addressed our alumni,
And a gathering of brand new recruits.
And as the mist filled his sturdy green eyes,
He placed a flower on top of a boot.


We took off our hats and got down on our knees
To say a prayer for our Purple Heart brothers.
Then as a dove was released and flew over the trees,
We presented a wreath to the Golden Star Mothers.

The chaplain reflected on words from the Bible,
As Amazing Grace now echoed forth from a flute.
Then as the smoke cleared away from the rifles,
We heard a twenty-one cannon salute.


“Gus,” asked Max, “why all this fuss to pay honor to vets,
When we’re the ones facing the shots?”
“No, Max, not the doctors who take care of pets,
But the men who for freedom have fought.

A lesson in civics I see I must teach,
So follow me down to the edge of the lake.
Let’s imagine ourselves near a faraway beach,
And a historical battle we’ll now recreate.”


The bow dipped low, the waves crashed high,
Those dogs sat huddled down in their craft.
Then a thousand airplanes filled the sky,
When at once their radio cracked.

Noah’s Ark to Beagle Leader! Noah’s Ark to Beagle Leader!
Our line is nearly breached! We need reinforcements on the east!
Units 31 and 343, you’re needed on the border! Units 31 and 343, do you copy your new orders?
“Roger!” --- “Max, that’s us.” And then they stormed the Normandy Beach.


As a billion bazooka guns boomed,
And the sound of artillery thundered,
The dogs scurried on top of a dune,
And took cover inside of a bunker.

“Make tracks, Gus! Make tracks!
By the enemy we’re being attacked!”
“Relax, Max! Relax!
You stepped in a pile of ants!”


As they sat in that hole holding perfectly still,
They saw a shadow duck into a fort.
“Cover me, Max, as I run up that hill.
His mission I’m going to thwart!”

Dodging the bullets and dancing through mines,
That castle he boldly did blitz.
Then up through a window he stealthfully climbed,
And came out with his prisoner Von Schmitt.


Sherman then whispered in Chief Dan’s right ear,
“Have you been watching those funny young hounds?
I wonder just what we might possibly hear,
If we could only tap into their thoughts!”

Chief barked, “Dalmatian Gus and Beagle Max!
Put back our helmets and that axe!
And unless you want to see my wrath,
You’ll at once untie that cat!”


I woke up from my dream to find
That I was M.I.A.,
A prisoner of my sin and pride,
Locked in a dungeon dark and gray.

Though He could have commanded the cavalry,
He chose to ride in Himself on a colt,
Then He conquered the mountain of Calvary,
Where the chains of my sin there He broke.


David J Allen
December 2, 2005


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