TITLE: OUR BELOVED By Bryan Rudolph 11/20/10 |
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My wife wanted her; I had my reservations, but relented.
Her first morning at our home, she whined; when we went to see, we found innocence looking up, with a lost stare and drooping ears.
Her heart became mine then and there, with no reservations recalled.
The adventure began with a run around the park, her not able to catch up.
But soon, she could compete with the wind, and seemed to win.
We went on long walks through nature trails, in wide open and wooded fields.
She chased balls and sticks with alacrity and chewed on bark and branch, with focused energy.
She learned quickly, what little we taught.
Her morning jog unfolded the day, the days then folded into years fast forwarded.
Along her way, she lost her sight, and later found illness, and lost her life.
When she was among us, her presence helped define who we were and what we did.
The instant without her, life’s meanings and minutiae shifted and we sifted into hollowed hostages of hardened helplessness.
We remember her stoic spirit in gentle gait, and regret any of our neglect toward her, knowing what prompts us to appreciate her beauty is also what pricks us to acknowledge our guilt.
Too often our thoughts were of work and worries, matters and meanderings, squeezing her out.
Now our memories of her, embraced within, find her free to forever be.
Only in there, inside our minds, we see the delightful darling we knew, chasing ball and stick, swimming in lake and climbing up cliff; jumping in snow, leaf, and sprinkler, each while looking up seeking permission, or lying comforted in arms and lap, unaware of the depth in sweetness and in sorrow she meant, and continues to mean, to us.
Her name was Kelly, our beloved salt and pepper miniature schnauzer, and she passed from our lives Monday, November 15, 2010.
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