Requiem For Rover

Like an exotic bird

You were wild and free

You loved to scamper over the ground

Your ears flapping in the wind

Running, light-hearted and carefree

The world was your playground

An endless sphere of excitement and discovery

On cold, dreary, rainy nights

You would lie on your rug by the warm, cracking fire

Fast asleep

I remember the look in your warm, brown eyes

The way your stumpy tail wagged

When I brought you hamburger

In a doggy bag

In the brisk, cool, foggy morning

We took long walks in the park

Your leash in my hand

And I scolded you

For barking at and scaring the cats

Days when I was away

You'd sit by the window

Forlornly watching

Patiently waiting

For the moment my key turned in the lock

And you jumped up and scurried around

Barking joyously

It was a fiery hot day in August

A rabbit darted across the road

By instinct, you took off after it

You never saw the truck coming

From the opposite direction

Your ratty old rug still lies in the corner

The toys you playfully battered around

Your food bowl still sits in my pantry

Your favorite old, soft sneaker

Is still in my closet

And sometimes, when everything is quiet

I can still hear

Your joyful bark