Rainbow Bridge

Composed 10/29/16
Description: When I originally looked at the word prompt for today, “Bridge,” I soon thought about Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary. Whenever a doggy member of their family dies they say they “crossed the rainbow bridge.” I always thought that was just a cute thing to say, but today I googled it and found that the “rainbow bridge” is a reference to an old prose poem that talks about where pets go when they die — you guessed it, the rainbow bridge, a lovely meadow where animals play until their owners die and the two “move on” together. Strangely, a close friend of mine had a pet loss today, so really there was nothing else I could write about. So here is my interpretation.

Darkness then
White
And luscious green
(If animals can see such a thing)
Perhaps it’s more damp and fragrant
Grass after rain
And a lightness
Free from pain
Old pals, new buddies
Sticks between their teeth
Running, jumping, up and downhill
Mud underneath their feet
For many years
For others only days
When a well-known nose twitch
Sends tails on a wild craze
More running and jumping
On people this time
And with a hand on a head
They step back in time
And follow the rainbow together
Up to that place divine

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Guardians

Composed 7/10/15
Description: Written in the dark hours of the morning.

One cat slept at the door
The other at her feet
How sweet she thought
Their gesture
Loyalty unending
What she didn’t see
When she closed her eyes
And drifted off to sleep
Was the warning glare
In their green orb stare
At the smoke man who appeared
And fled
No words more

Kitty Cat

Composed 2/18/15
Description: For Writing 201: Day 4, that challenged us to write a concrete/shape poem using an animal theme and enjambment.

My animal inspiration came from the cute little fluffy thing that I share a house with. Shape poems can be challenging, but I hope I succeeded with this one!

Petting the Cat

Composed 4/17/14
Description: (Day 17 of NaPoWriMo) Did not have a lot of inspiration today, so I clung to the suggested prompt, which was to write about something using 3 of the 5 senses. While thinking about what to describe, I had a visitor, which inspired this poem.

Soft hills and valleys
Of warm feather grass
Shifting and rolling as explored
Erupt into mini earthquakes
Trembling under fingertips
And whispered thunder
Rumbles from within
As glassy green orbs
Melt away in pleasure

Sammi

Today Sammi, our dog of nearly 14 years, died. She died with her ears still sticking up.

Some things I will always remember about my puppy: Taking her home the first night. Racing her up the stairs. The way she would get randomly hyper and run around the house. The way she knew when I was sad and made me laugh. The way I could get her ears to stick up by raising the pitch of my voice. How even she knew that wet, rolled up towels are a scary thing. How she always knew when dad was out getting breakfast and would wait eagerly for him (and bacon) to return. How she was always so warm and smelled like a dog, but I loved it. She loved toasting outside in the sun. She loved to have her ears scratched.

I don’t think she ever lived up to her name (Samantha means “obedient”), but she was a sweet, loving dog, and from that first night she was my baby. She will be missed very much.

This morning, when all seemed normal, I called her over and she laid down and rested her head on my foot. Totally randomly, I took a few pictures of her. I only wish now they had been better pictures.

Rest in Peace, Sammi. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Harley May

Composed 8/10/13
Description: Inspired by one of my two cats, and the commotion she caused a few mornings ago.

The living embodiment
Of that old cliché
Bolts up the stairs
At the door’s merest sway
But a hunter of hands
When the winds are calm
Hundred sounds then emitting
From the urging of your palm
At night most frisky
Jumping dresser to stand
For a few more strokes
Knocking frames and lamps
That fall then exploding
When the sun is still gone
Then dashing back down
As we wake in alarm

Watch Your Mouth

Composed 5/6/13
Description: So my roommate’s fish died yesterday morning, and, well…

He was a gentle spirit
And navy as the evening sky
He’d spent his lifetime captive
But he lived a peaceful life

Her face fell as he lay
On those turquoise cobblestone streets
His blue spirit had left the cage
And now was finally free

I pat her hand
Don’t worry I say
Things will only get
Better today

At lunch she told me
She’d gotten a call
To report the death
Of her dear grandpa