'FIRST DAY'

(R.I.P. Andrew d. 4-29-08)

You're one hour gone
my little dog
and I,
for the first time,
enter this house without you,

Stooping, I put away
the things of you
--surprised at how they hurt me

-- your food -- your dish -- your bed
-- this useless leash I'm holding in my hand --
not needed now
by a dog that's dead;

So, I must revert my life,
straighten contours
formed
to hold another being,

Mornings, dogless,
I will lie abed,
no longer bounded
by your hunger
or your canine bladder;

Whose need now
will structure me?
and
what will I do
with a life grown sadder?
-jorge999