every day, i’d kick off my shoes next to my chair in the dining room, and every day, she’d ‘steal’ one, and wait for me to notice
she would tease me, laughing as only a loved dog does…and with glee in her eyes, she romped through the house, with my shoe just out of reach
this morning, for the first time in…years…my shoes remain where i left them
her stuffed pig and donkey lie silent, dormant, in her empty bed…waiting for a game that will never begin again…and my heart breaks
she was, a good girl
©️2019
lingering son 