What’s Left

pals / photo by shf

Do you know the feeling

of offering your dog a treat

and saying as your eyes fill

and your throat closes,

This is from other mommy,

but the muzzle turns away,

not tempted by trite bribery —

the loss too soon, the lie too ripe.

The dog knows.

She is gone.

The disappearance

a sharp absence,

trimming a new edge.