Prompt: unspecified, possibly poetry related

Fragment

Last night A recounted a story about a new discovery on the difference between dogs and wolves. Wolves, when given a test of their ability to solve a problem will continue to paw at their task unrelentingly, whereas dogs will make a valiant attempt or two and then, without fail, turn and look to the human administering the test as if to ask for assistance. On the basis of this evidence, scientists have concluded that wolves, the more tenacious of the test's subjects, are the more intelligent.

This morning I observed our dog, Leonard, as he watched my every move. Each of his glances seemed to call out something different: "when will we be going for that walk?" "how about breakfast sooner rather than later."

Prompt: When do you know it's finished?

When do you know it's finished? This really depends on what "it" is as so much in life is difficult to measure with any accuracy. Some "its" are things one initiates. Such as a work of creativity. In most of those cases, the answer can be very subjective. Even here there can be subcategories of the state of finished. Take for example a painting. If one is aiming for a realistic style, a finished product would look much like its subject matter as possible to have it appear satisfyingly complete. However, if one were more of an impressionist, a finished work is less definable and more up to the discretion of the artist. In the matter of food, one relies on taste but for better accuracy, a recipe can be consulted as to when to stop applying heat, adding spices, adjusting ratios. Other things are more definite. Many would say a book is finished when the last word on the last page has been read. Films are over when their credits roll.

I'm actually not finished yet with the writing of this -- I'm contemplating how you know other things are finished, such as a relationship: maybe when the phone stops ringing? Or is a meal finished once the dishes are cleared? But is anything ever really finished? Because when all is said and done, so to speak, we still, from time to time, will think about these past things, these people we have known, events attended. Long ago, I read in a book that in some cultures, the deceased are still believed to be alive until the last person who knew them has died and now I'm rambling but isn't this true for all that we know of this world? That so much lives on in our memories, in our hearts, even though it's long since been "finished"? Maybe things are truly finished only when there's no one left to remember that there was once a beginning and a middle.