I am alone with my thoughts on the morning walk. Going through the motions, pausing when Bubba stops to smell the scent of a dog that’s found the bush before him. My mind, like the sky, is wallowing in darkness.
My precious dog is still here but I know the day will come when he’ll be gone. When I try to imagine that moment, my heart catches and my throat closes. This much I know, it will be much worse than my thoughts can ever conceive today.
I pull myself into the present; the solitude will come all too soon for the years are racing by. I look up to the heavens and say a prayer. Lord, help me to live in the now, to cherish every morning walk, every old dog snore, every plea for treats.
dark skies threatening
blackbirds glide across bruised sky
raindrops on my face
©2019 Linda Lee Lyberg
dVerse Poets Pub: Haibun Monday Solitude
Your haiku is so heartbreaking in its intensity. The thoughts of you losing your beloved dog moves me to tears.
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Thank you Toni. We’ve become so attached since I am home all the time now.
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I understand. I felt the same way about my last cat. No more pets for me because it hurts so badly when they die.
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Yes, it certainly does.
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Beautiful, Linda.
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Thank you Penny.
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I made a listing ‘oo’ noise at the second line of the haiku. Wonderfully written.
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Thank you so very much.
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Aww! I feel your heart, for our dogs are getting older and I breathe the same prayer! ❤
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Yes, it’s tough, isn’t it. Thank you.
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It is for they become like family!
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Yes.
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Sadly beautiful. I always try to keep these thoughts from my mind. Live for the moment.
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Yes, me too most days.
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Sweet. So hard to imagine loss of something so dear
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Thank you. Yes, it is.
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That loneliness you feel when you loose something worth keeping is very painful but. Its More painful when you know something worth keeping can’t be kept forever most definitely you will loose it but you just don’t no when..that feeling sucks😞
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Yes. Thank you for stopping by.
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But in the wisdom and tenderness of your words, “live in the now, to cherish every morning walk, every old dog snore, every plea for treats”! Your beautiful dog will forever be a precious part of your life Linda.
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Yes, he will. He has my heart, always. Thank you Rob.
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Continue to cherish the time with Bubba, Linda. I know what it’s like when there are no more dog walks, stopping and sniffing, pulling on the lead, snores, twitches and running in dreams. I love the haiku!
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Thank you Kim. I will. I have been reading Mary Oliver’s Dog Songs. I cried reading her words and of course started thinking about my little dog and so this.
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yes to living in the now, solitude gives us such clarity – treasured words here Linda
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Thank you Gina.
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The theme of solitude as associated with grief is running these posts. Losses pile up over time, and even though we know it is inevitable, it can become difficult to direct our thoughts away from the endings. I find my fears pulling me there too. Touching piece.
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Yes, perhaps as we age and our own mortality becomes more evident, it does for those we love as well. Thank you V.J.
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You’re welcome.
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The thoughts of having a pet is chilling to me… I remember all the partings of the past with beloved animals… one of the reason I will never have a dog… the haiku is stunning.
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Thank you Bjorn.
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