Greetings, Poetry Lovers! Missed you last week as I was visiting my folks in Florida. It was strange taking walks around their neighborhood without my tiny walking buddy of the past 10 years. As I write this post on the 14th, it's six months since I had to have our precious 3 1/2-pound rescued Chihuahua, Rita, put down the afternoon before I moved from coastal Beaufort, SC, to join my husband here at our new address in the Upstate. It was a shock to spend much of my last week there in the emergency vet hospital instead of just packing boxes.
We still miss her naps in our laps, her tail-chasing spins of excitment, and the teeny tapping of the tiniest toenails across the floor. Three friends of mine lost long-time dog companions this summer, and another lost a favored alpaca. I've seen online that a Poetry Friday friend just lost a treasured family pup, too. It never gets easier for any of us, does it?
Haiku always offers me a safe and sometimes surprising place to park my grief, explore our connection with the world, and spark memory or wonder. Here's a haiku I wrote after Rita died, and which was chosen by this year's Haiku Society of America's Members Anthology editor Allyson Whipple for the upcoming 2023 edition.
first day of spring
my dog's ashes
in the mailbox
©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.
The lovely and talented Rose has our Roundup this week at Imagine the Possibilities. Thanks for hosting, Rose!