thick headed
sleepy eyed
mangy brindle
mutt
of questionable
origins
born with a head
the size of a truck
that his body
had to catch up with

he loved basketballs
and tuna
and skateboards
and gardenhoses
and frogs
and crickets
and babies
(not that way)

such a stupid dog
he always thought
he still weighed
five pounds
when he jumped on
my head
while i slept
sending me to work
with bruises
and the smell
of dog ass

he's been gone
some years
ashes long gone
blown down a street
he didn't know
i fool myself
into thinking
he might've missed me
when he spent his last days
in philadelphia
i fool myself
to drown out the guilt

did i tell you
he had a mexican standoff
with a bear
in the backyard?
my father
was chopping wood
when it happened
he chased the bear
out
he sure did
like i said
he was a stupid dog

he's gone
like other dogs
like a moment
like tears in the rain
like his namesake
like empires
gone

he was so stupid
he couldn't wait for me
to come back
for him
so dumb
that he couldn't understand
that all i needed
were a few more years
with him
that i needed for him
to hang on
for a little
while
longer

every now and then
i hear a song  
in my heart
stirring
a blast of triumphants
calling me
to rise
and pay homage
to a warrior
and i look the west
where he has joined
his brothers
running on white shores
and chasing rabbits
over a far green country
until purple twilight creeps
over the land
and he takes respite
under the trees of kings

still
even for a pit bull
he was a
pretty
dumb
dog