Into the Wild Spaces

          If Dogs save no
            Yesterdays
               and
             expect no
            Tomorrows,
then you were so wise to fill every
              Today
      with pats on the head,
    a caress of that soft fur,
   chasing behind the children,
              close
       but not too close,
        soft, puppy Hugs,
watching "Bird TV" in the
     warm light of afternoon,
          long puppy naps
      on the cool, tiled floors
        of our African home
           that was your
             Home too.
           You who had
  the silent grace to choose us
    from that Cotonou corner,
       had, too, the grace
to know when it was time for our two paths to
              diverge.
      But I whose days are all
      Yesterdays and Tomorrows
     still look for you on that
          empty pillow,
      wait for your soft paws,
  tangled in the mosquito netting,
           the fuzzy
             Thump
    of your chin on my knee,
       wondering if now
  we'll go for just one more
             Walk.