A final conversation with my dog the day that Kandi died

As I look in your trusting eyes
to say my tearful last goodbyes,
I find it hard to let you go.
You’re such a part of me.

The years we shared are now a blur
since you were but a ball of fur.
I still can see you in my mind
unleashed and running free.

But now you’re sick and not yourself.
I grieve to know you’ve lost your health.
Yet you brought boundless joy to me.
I hope somehow you know.

And as I stroke your shiny coat,
a lump grows large within my throat.
I wonder if you understand
this really is farewell.

You look at me as if to say,
“Just stay with me. Don’t go away.”
And so I will, my little one
as you lay down to sleep.

And though the time has come to part,
you’ve left your paw prints in my heart.
A heart that breaks imagining
my life when you are gone.

This poem is dedicated to the memory of Kandi Kisses Asimakoupoulos who passed away in the poet’s arms on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 one week shy of her 15th birthday. It was written a couple hours before the mobile vet arrived to facilitate the necessary procedure.