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Submitted by Ann Neilson

Friend of these years, dear companion of my life,
Now prowling the depths of Heaven’s blue,
Once scarred by the storm, now hidden from strife,
Your bosom is clothed in earth’s pitying dew.
The forgiving face that greeted each day,
The paw pads bounding down the hall,
Dutifully monitoring each step and each peek,
Your admiring eyes reflecting each gaze that you’d meet,
While the birds were forewarned by your brazen glare,
Which echoed your fur in the warm Autumn light—
The shadows that danced from streetcars at night,
Arrested your curious gaze without falter,
While the red string you played with, pawed at and chased,
Although outgrown later years since, has a place
In my mind, for it recalls to me the growth of eternal bond,
As I led and you followed, and likewise you’d show me
The kindness the world has to offer, if slowly.
Memories seem few and neither fill nor replace you,
My mind greedily scans to pick up fragments now scattered.
But, life’s storm will clear, and we’ll meet again in haste.
Until then, know that in my heart your own is encased.

Photo credit: Walter Frederick Osborne – A New Arrival