When I was young, I sat accused

Of stealing chocolate chip cookies

Stern faced parents were not amused

At my attempts to lie like a rookie

At five years old, I shook my head no

Someone else must have eaten the treats

They said if I fibbed, my nose would grow

I refused to confess in defeat

They looked at me like a seasoned sleuth

Got punished since a lie was embraced

They knew I hadn’t spoken the truth

With cookie crumbs all over my face

Forty years passed, I sat on the couch

Ate spoonfuls of potato salad

Exhausted, I slumped into a slouch

Fell asleep to the strums of a ballad

When I awoke the bowl was licked clean

On the floor I sat interviewing

My dog denied eating the cuisine

Insisted there was no wrongdoing

I thought of my youth, of the cookie dough

How that theft was not a success

In my dog’s whiskers was smeared mayo

He learned from me how to confess