Paying the Tillerman

Pup,

six years ago today

you left this world.

Now a little sister

is heading your way,

and I am going home,

over the mountains,

to our beloved beach.

There is a price to be paid

for every journey,

tears for all the sorrow,

smiles for all the joy.

You pay the tillerman

and step aboard.

You take the journey

as it comes.

It brings wonders,

and heartbreak,

and it stretches

the walls

of our hearts.

I will carry you and Jasmine with me

on every walk on Chestermans Beach.

I will whisper a prayer of gratitude:

for you, for Jas,

for all the wagging tails

and puppy kisses

that have blessed my life,

with every setting sun

until I find you both again.

for the Poetry Pantry at Poets United. 

Pup is six years gone today, and I still grieve. And now Jasmine is making her way towards the Rainbow Bridge. She is eleven and a half and her tumors are aggressive. Yesterday the vet said we are near the end, in order for her to have a peaceful passing, not in crisis. We are hoping she will make it to the end of the month so I can have as long as possible with her. But time is precious now, and going by too fast. She is still smiling, though, her trademark smile.

The hardest part of loving dogs is losing them, as every dog lover knows.