I live my life in dog years
And I'm afraid the end it nears
For every year of man, I suffered enough for seven
And I fear there is no way I'm going to heaven
Dogs are not allowed, for me it's Armageddon

He lays there,
Dead and dry,
Mouth open,
Hard as a stone.

Sun scorching,
As his body blight,
His soul wears black,
Cold shouldered by passersby.

Morning to night,
He waits to find peace,
But crows peck,
Pitch into a dumpster.

My sick little dog
Wiggles and bothers
Let's go out, out, out!

I take random pictures
Brooding.
What would I miss?

She sets the pace
Sniff, pause, backtrack
Dance.

A breeze plays with strands
Of a weeping willow.
A million hidden smells.

Today
For both of us
It is enough.

-ALA

March 21, 2016

I'm sorry that I wasn't there
To hold you when you needed comfort
I just refused to believe that you could ever die
But now here I lie
Eye to eye
With the buddy I swore to stand by
Dead
On the ground
No longer alive
I held her paw tightly in my hand
Staring at her dull eyes
Not ready to confront the truth
That my best friend had died
I tell her I love her
As if she were still alive
And apologize for not being there
But all she gives me a blank stare

I pretend not to care
That she can no longer wag her tail
Or lick my cheek
To give me the comfort that I need and seek
Finally a tear begins to leak
And seeps into her fur
With which I used to sleep on
On those boring days
Which are now gone
Lost as hazy memories
Give them back to me!
I didn't realize how lucky I was
For every day I had with her
I curse myself for not taking the time to play with her
Or getting off the computer
To show her how much I really love her
With belly rubs and big bear hugs
I'm sorry that I wasn't there

I'm sorry
I'm sorry
Please come back
So I can do the right thing  
Pick up the slack
That selfishness brings
As I beg you for forgiveness
My mother comes around
And tells me that the time is now
To bury you deep in the ground
I squeeze your paw tighter
And tell you good-bye    
Stand up from the ground
And watch you getting carried away
I can't bear the thought of watching you get buried
So I run upstairs and cry
Into my pillow
Wondering why I wasn't there
To hold your paw
While you were hurting
Lady, when you took your last breath
I hope you knew
Despite the fact I wasn't there
I did and always will
Love you

I came down to make brunch,
Early on
In the afternoon.
I cracked the eggs
And lit the stove,
My dog limped up beside me.
A three legged beast of
Enormous size
Humbled by
The lack of limbs.
I fried the bacon,
But threw no scraps,
Though I was her support.

A safe dog doesn't run the fence.
She wouldn't break the good leash to leave you.

A love so forlorn and so lost
A hopeless and helpless love
Hunters poach her heart
While I slumber behind like a watchdog
Should she stray I nudge and guide
Trailing on her skirt tails in the moonlight
A fools requiem chasing a lunar phantom
Dreamer's scenery, doomed to forget
I pray for empathy but do not embrace it
Resolve long from forgotten
Ever the faithful companion
As I trail behind in field of forget me nots
Collecting the pieces
To put her back together again

nothing beats the unconditional love of a dog
the way they greet you on your worst days
lick your face clean and smile as you lean in to pet their head
the way they watch you grow up
they're there for the birthdays and the family holidays
for the bad days and the good days,
they'll always be in the mood to play or to just lay with you
the way they'll cuddle with you and lick away your tears,
they'll stay right by your side through all your trials and all your fears
dogs are like a built in best friend
we'll never be able to love like them

nothing beats the unconditional love of a dog
because to us they're just apart of the journey
but to them, we are their entire universe