lingering in his softness
we sat there
on the floor
our fingers
lingering
in his softness
as life
left him
with a long
exhalation
fogged with relief
from the frailty
of living
This poem was written to a prompt “One moment I will always remember is”. I set a timer and wrote for 5 minutes nonstop without judgement. Then added more physical details and imagery and built a poem about the day Jim and I put Tucker to sleep over 20 years ago. Rest in peace, sweet boy.
Walking in the West Oak Cemetery
Our path is well worn with quiet company
and silent memories. We walk this way
nearly every day, an adventure of sorts for
me and my dog, Nugget, a big brown bear of a dog,
ever curious, even as his hearing dissipates like summer rain on a sidewalk. He’s blind now, but that seems to have only heightened his courage, not stopped him at all from looking at everything with fresh young eyes. He shows me the meaning of beginner’s mind, slow strides shape a sense of optimism, intrigue, and mystery.
The air is crisp, one of those days when birdsong
sounds clearer, with the fall breeze rolling in
as if the sea were near. Just a month ago
the sun was bright in the sky and the air
was warm as a winter’s fire in the den.
The light around us has a smoky orange glow, the last of the sun squeezing her light through
the old oaks that border the west perimeter
of this graveyard that is our walking world.
Nuggie leads me along at a gentle pace,
not the hurried rush of his youth, or mine.
Sniffing every tree along the gravel path
that meanders through this little spirit village –
as if he’s never been here before.
What is it that makes him linger?
The sweet scent of a comrade he’d like
to meet one day, nose-to-nose, I suspect.
Sometimes he paws at a patch of grass,
like there’s an answer to a question he’s been asking his entire life. I confess, I tend to lose my patience after he’s done this 3 times, so I give a little tug on his leash and he reluctantly lifts his gray old face offering the most pathetic of expressions, as if to say “Really? This is my joy!”
Nug disappointed with me, and me
disappointed with me, we amble along.
I lose myself in the crunch of my boots
on the pebbled path, the swish of my sweater
as my arms move to the rhythm of our walk.
As the first fall leaves drip from the sky,
my little Nugget lifts his moist dark nose
as if he can smell the passage of the season,
and understand how dying makes compost for the living.
sumptuous summer sunday
in the car
windows rolled down
warm air washing over us
the dogs’ heads hanging out the windows
their noses twitching at the wind
on the way to the city park
for our walk along the river
in the summer sun
on this sumptuous sunday,
we catch all of the green lights
Every.
Single.
One.
and we ease into life’s flow
our hearts smiling
as we allow the world to support us.