Dedicated to Polly 2024-2025 who left the world while being kissed on the face and loved all over. Predator of rats, cats and raccoons. Scared of plastic bags. Best friend to Lily. Loved by all of us.
The dog is dying,
we learned today.
Sweet, strange Polly,
we wish she could stay.
I remember Doug the pug,
my very first child.
To say that I loved him
was putting it mildly.
He taught me responsibility,
how to nurture and care.
He was a funny little guy
with his big-eyed stare.
He pulled me to the pet store
where biscuits were free.
Every day after work,
he knew where he wanted to be.
Doug lived 13 years,
and it was a way too short.
I wasn’t ready to let him go,
but it was my job to support,
To care for his life,
and also his death.
I was committed to walking him,
to his final breath.
And it broke my heart,
saying goodbye to my boy,
The snoring little dude
who brought me so much joy.
It’s a little different with Polly.
She is the family pet.
Lily doesn’t remember a time without her—
saying goodbye, she did not expect.
Only 11 years old,
not quite old age,
But lymphoma happens,
and she’s late stage.
For Lily, a heartbreak,
and also some lessons—
To love them and lose them,
experiences with blessings.
For they are master teachers,
The lesson: impermanence.
We are to love and let go,
the practice: benevolence.
To love them in life
with all of our heart,
And then to say goodbye with compassion
as we help them depart.
It shows us both sides of love,
for in death there is grief.
The experience holds magic,
hidden beneath.
For the simultaneous holding
the experience together—
Of both grief and of love
will heal us all forever.
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