She's Gone, Still Here
(for Latte)
She would not have wanted to leave us today
(For there could be no party without her at play)
She would have gone on playing night and day
If she just could have kept on wagging.
Playing, wagging, and waiting to play again,
Were her life, her happy task, played out for us
Until a weight far stronger than all her strength
Stilled her tail and she could wag no more.
Now she’s somewhere else and yet still here,
Awaiting her treat by the bed or by the door.
Enter any space where she’s been before
And you smile, you pause and watch her:
Wagging.
(Written in typeface Perpetua)