paws crossed over like you just want

to say something but i weep you 

first

 

as if salt halts both the slug and passage of time

i sit on a bed in a cabin on a hill in the mountains of north carolina in a prayer

 

in the dim light i am haunted by

the shadows of all that i lost

 

i am sorry i did not hold you when i could

how i let the pain of pain break the joy of joy

 

how we are sisters borne across breed — giving and given

i sleep with my arms cradled to hold your golden form one last time

 

what is lost is always felt and never forgotten, as i give to you and you to me

all that we were never given — innocence, childlove, and warmth.