—WELL I’M JUST WAKING UP AND I’M NOT THINKING CLEARLY SO DON’T QUOTE ME

 

 

In Sunshine or Shade

 

 

For the first time since dying 

Lucy comes in and curls up on my carpet 

her fur the shape of a tawny comma 

a sweet burst of air shooting through her nostrils 

settling in for whatever dreams will arrive 

while I whisper how much I love her 

how much I’ve missed her 

how my life has changed since she’s been gone

 

I tell her about Charlie and that 

I think I’ve changed my mind

that I can’t lose another

that there is no other but her

 

Lying in a cone of ochre sunlight 

her ears twitch and when a hind leg kicks 

I’m left wondering if she’s running through a butterfly field 

chasing Charlie’s ghost around someone else’s yard

or perhaps gallivanting happily in Heaven