I’ve cried so many times
for dogs I’ve lost. Their lives
so very short, and mine
so long. But now I have
a pack of them at heel.
They follow me, in step
with my remembering,
each one his own, but all
a product of myself,
my fostering, and thus
sometimes a mirror of
my failures and my faults.
I love them all, and each
comes when I call or yes
sometimes unbidden
as they all did in their
short and happy lives.
