The Chain
If I didn’t have Shelby
I wouldn’t have known I was capable
of selfless maternal love
If I didn’t have Kira
I wouldn’t have known my heart’s capacity
to heal after profound loss
I also wouldn’t have known
the canine equivalent of Lucille Ball
“She can dance, she can sing,
she can make your belly hurt with laughter
with just a twitch of her face…”
If I didn’t have Luna
I wouldn’t have known
The Queen of Tennis Balls,
or that a dog could will you to take the boat out
so that she could swim one more time
unencumbered by shoreline
I also wouldn’t have seen my father so delighted
by a dog that sat by his feet and lovingly stared
into his Pied Piper eyes
If I didn’t have Charlie Brown,
I would have continued to watch another dog suffer
from the absence of her sidekick
I also would have never fully understood
the importance of companionship to the canine spirit
If I didn’t have Seamus
I might have lain frozen in the snow
dead just one day after my 50th birthday
I also wouldn’t have understood the key role
dogs and cats play in our everyday survival
When I struggled to will myself through another day,
they gave me reason to get up every morning and carry on
If I didn’t have Ceara
I wouldn’t have known the joy of blended family
or the happy mayhem of having three amigos (or stooges) at one time
If I didn’t have Tessa
I wouldn’t have had a purebred dog from puppyhood,
being able to imprint on her from the start
all the love and security she would need to feel whole
If I didn’t have Van Gogh
I would have a huge hole
where all his macho exuberance takes up residence and
keeps me on my toes
I remember the losses well, but I remember the bounty more
as it should be…
The chain stronger than its individual parts,
each circle unbroken by death or time
indelible love and memories forever mine
