Wednesday, October 24, 2018

"Mourning Abbey" Terri Lynn Cummings

"Abbey" Ink & Watercolor on Paper
By J. Artemus Gordon
Mourning Abbey
Terri Lynn Cummings

Too sentimental some say
Maudlin over the loss of a dog
eyes large and sharp
fur silver and gray
like stones of an ancient abbey

I say no one laments a moth
or a spider. Ants gather no tears
Flies don’t either. Turtles 
make the cut, sometimes cats
Dogs, almost always

She wasn’t my daughter
but dug a home in my heart
tender as a newborn. Without her
I am blind in the dark. Cannot 
shed the heavy coat of being human

Poet’s Notes: We adopted Abbey soon after our son died. She strayed into our lives and over ten years she patched the gaping hole torn in our hearts. When we lost Abbey to the same bleeding disorder that killed our son, we were overwhelmed on many levels. My husband and I knew the addition of another dog to our household would help--not to replace Abbey, but to help fill the new hole in our hearts.

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