My dog ran out
to chase a motorcycle
speeding through
the neighborhood.
Never expected
to catch it
with her puppy head
and a short yelp
that left her
breathing slow
looking scared.
On the back porch
we wrapped her
in black plastic
we had bought
for grass clippings,
but I didn’t cry
until I carried the bag
to the curb for the dead
animal pickup
and felt her inside
the three ply trash sack
furry and cold and stiff.
I had touched death before
on my waxy grandma
but death took a puppy
to touch me.
Normally, I offer comments and analysis on the poetry I put here. Not today.
This poem is part of the What I Learned from Animals group writing project hosted by Robert Hruzek and HighCallingBlogs.com. Go to those sites to read some happier stuff.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 6 comments }
Marcus,
I really like that poem.
-Sam
Sam’s last blog post..Testing Technorati
Wonderful poem. I can hear that heart breaking.
I wish I’d known about the WILF project before the deadline – I’ve been waiting for an excuse to write about the lesson on ENVY that I learned from my OCD Jack Russell and our fat bunny.
Dang, I wish you had a feedblitz thingy, I’m a technotard about feeds.
Camille’s last blog post..Bring Out The Blarney Stone, It’s Election Year
That is one powerful poem. It’s interesting how many of the posts in this project (including mine) deal with death.
Brad Shorr’s last blog post..What Parenting Has Taught Me about Copywriting
Ouch. How old were you?
Ahhhh, Marcus. How many of us have learned about death through our pets? I’ve never cried so hard in my life as when we put our pet cocker spaniel down due to cancer. I would have been about 37 then. I cried so hard that the vet didn’t charge us for the euthanasia. Peace, Kim
kim’s last blog post..P4E.076 In the Dark
Oh my gosh, I have never experienced the death of an animal – you didn’t have to say much to share what that felt like. Nice to share stories with you again!!
Comments on this entry are closed.