February 2024
Bio Note: It's great to be alive after heart failure. My wife and son are healthy, I walk my dog to the park daily, and continue to teach middle school math (and write). Life has its own grace, for which I offer mortal gratitude.
A Dog at Night
Our shipoo grew more anxious once our poodle died.
Each night, she lays on my chest in bed,
Her paws on my chest sensing my heart’s rhythm
brown eyes half-closed, covered with fur,
her delicate breath touching my face.
I wonder about the mysterious worlds she sniffs
late afternoons in shadowy piles of pine needles
gathered around the base of trees,
places I never ventured in my five dog lives.
I lift my hand to pet the top of her head,
my fingers sensing the skull so like my own.
©2024 Marc Petrie
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