Max Been there cheers P
-----Original Message-----
From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Max Richards
Sent: 11 June 2014 10:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 'Death of Henry'
Death of Henry
My ex-wife Jay's dog Henry, which
after a riverside spat with horses
spent months at the pound
waiting for the law to rule in his favour,
was walking that same river
path the other day
when he faltered, lay
down and died.
Old enough, for a dog.
Bystanders tried CPR
and even offered mouth-to-mouth.
Exit Henry, beyond help.
Our daughter Jen says
Jay is bereft.
In a few weeks' time, the two
will check dogs for adoption
at Lort Smith Animal Hospital
and the RSPCA.
It dawns on me -
I used to be
much in the role of Jay's dog,
on-leash - better fed - exercise-companion;
in the latter years I'd become
as silent as a dog.
But when I left, there was
no Lort Smith from which
to rescue some stray
replacement spouse.
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