The top picture is Louie full grown. The bottom picture is Charley at 8 months in February 2015
These two poems were written five months apart and mark two points of grief in our losing of a dearly loved pet and family member. We had Louie with us a dozen years. He had no other agenda than to be with us. He was a joy to the eye and the heart.
We waited a year to get Charley, a black standard Poodle. Charley is different, lovable and a sweet reminder of the pleasures Louie brought us.
The Last Time #562 February 2013
Today Louie
failed to make the jump
up to the
window seat. He flopped ungainly
to the floor
and did not try once more.
I would not
see him on that perch again.
It must have
been embarrassing to him
for me to see
the waning of his strength.
I notice now
and then he stands there looking up
remembering
the sun’s warmth, the view
of birds and
squirrels. He does not seem to hear
as well nor
bark at strangers any more.
I dread his
further losses, weighing when
it’s time
somewhere along his sad decline.
I watch it all
and deeply feel my sighs.
and know that
every living creature dies.
Lament for Louie #568
July 7, 2013
Louie
died last night. His presence
shouts
in
the quiet house. We breakfast on the deck
where
even the air is still, the wind chimes silent.
The
meadow, where he ran free, seems empty, forlorn.
A
flock of turkeys, five hens, single file,
with
a train of chicks, slowly cross the field,
a
funeral procession celebrating
the
cycle of life. Our tears lament this truth.
We
will spread his ashes in the meadow
where
his spirit can continue that
fluid
canter and rhythmic trot forever,
doubling
back to check a smell, alive,
always
in the moment, looking to see
if we were still in the vicinity.
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