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) »
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.
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.
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…
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….