© 2011 by Tom King

I hardly knew how much she meant to me.
My furry dog-child curled up upon the floor.
I suppose it's cause the kids are up and grown
And little need my company anymore,
That I have grown attached;
That I find my heartstrings
Played upon when only lately such sweet music I forbore.

We have them for so brief a time, a spring
It seems, and then they slip so quietly away,
And leave a wounded heart behind to soldier on
And face the living wars and troubles day to day;
No warm breathing by my chair
No dark eyes shining up at me.
I miss her already, even though she has not gone away.

To love a thing that much, so fleeting in its passage
Whether, wife or child or friend or even hound
Lays bare the heart to wounding when the loved is lost
Or threatened even by injury or illness found;
A trip to the hospital,
An overnight at the vet,
Leaving the anxious heart to flutter and to pound. 

God in His mercy surely makes provision,
For kids and wives, beagles and hounds - a place
Beyond this life; a treasure house where loves
May be renewed. For surely in His grace
His tender heart could never bear
A love forever lost;
A loved one's shining eyes, no longer looking up into His face.