Hi Gary,
A well controlled poem, I think. You balance the swings between thinking you should make the call and putting it off, just as in life. Just one point of grammar - the phrase `to wait until the holidays over´ doesn´t seem quite right. Should it be `to wait until the holiday was over´?
Best wishes, Mike
--- Alkuperäinen viesti ---
Death of a Dog: Four Ball
Through the summer,
busy with trips and travel,
family, housework and life,
I avoided the call,
made excuses that it was warm,
he was comfortable,
his companion would be lonely.
As fall wore on,
I watched him stagger to eat,
each step seemed more difficult than the last,
but the days were still comfortable,
winter weeks away,
chores and visits took my time,
and I did not call.
December,
I resolved to call after the New Year,
to wait until the holidays over,
the house empty of distractions.
But after the first, I waited,
excuses made throughout this week.
I really meant to do it today.
He died last night.
I never made the call to put him away.
Fifteen years
with a dachshund's bad spine.
I hope he is finally comfortable.
*
He lived his last few years in a large kennel with his buddy, Buck, part
retriever, part Doberman. Foul Ball was exiled to the kennel due to a lack
of bladder control and his obsession with the cat. When out, he did nothing
by chase the cat. She, of course, teased him.
Jan Jenifer Lawrence at: http://gardawg.homestead.com/gardawg.html ---
Writer's Hood at http://www.writershood.com/... Poets for Peace.... ¡Poemas
sí, balas no!
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