Death Came by Last Night

Death came by last night

The pup wasn’t thriving, he was barley eating

Puggy Sue kept pushing him away from her other babes

She looked at me with sad, calm eyes

We did the best we could, we tried everything

But the wee pup wasn’t thriving, he wasn’t growing

Finally, I went to bed

I woke in the dead of the night and went to Puggy Sue

The pup wasn’t thriving; he was barley alive

Puggy Sue had pushed him a way and buried him in a blanket

I wrapped him more gently and tucked him in the corner of the pen

Puggy Sue looked at me with sad, calm eyes

I went back to bed

I did not light a candle

I left the whiskey in the bottle on the counter

I did not fill the bowl

I did not leave an offering for Death

For gratitude for mercy, to appease, to beg to leave

I went to bed

I did not bribe the ferryman

I was so very tired; it was so very late at night

I woke with the sun and buried the babe

Then went to the kitchen for a cup of tea

My mother had sad news

Sometime in the night, all her fish had died

A beta, some tetras, and a trio of aquatic frogs

All went from fine to mysteriously deceased over night

Death took Her own offering

I suppose I should have paid the ferryman

I will have to buy my mother more frogs and fish

Comments (4) »

  • Jade says:

    Oh how sad. I remember when my dog had puppies last summer. The little runt died a day or two after it was born. I saw it lying still and picked it up. It was so cold. Maggie, my dog, looked up at me with saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. I took it outside to bury it behind an enclosed fence so nothing would dig it up. Maggie looked at me like she wanted me to bring it back, and I felt so guilty. I decided after that that if any of my dogs ever had puppies again, I would take care of the runt myself.

  • Juniper says:

    Yes we had him on a heating pad beside his mother, encouraged him to drink from her but also bottle fed him. He had that very premature look to him, sometimes you do everything and they just don’t make it.

  • Moonmama says:

    Sorry to hear about the little guy…and your mom’s fish and frogs :(

    I’m a firm believer though, that Nature knows best….as sad as it can be for us….you have done so much for these little souls — it just wasn’t meant to be…

  • Hilary says:

    I’m so sorry to hear about the pup. My fish had strangely and suddenly passed also. They were fine this morning but by this afternoon they were all dead. Strange things….

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