A Loss Poem: "Love and Beauty Envy the Dog"

I thought I knew what the sun felt like, on my face,

When I was cold, deep inside.

I pretended to understand how filling the ocean was, when breathing

It in deep, and feeling it’s breeze.

That moment when a certain heartbreak is resolved, and you find

Yourself content, again, for the first time in a long time;

Walking barefoot in the damp grass, in a place far from anywhere

That caused me sadness or grief;

I thought I knew the depth of my heart, my soul-

It’s potential for love; to understand that

Deep pang it gives me when it reminds me that love is real;

I thought I knew it all, I thought-

Then I found you, my dog, my sweet forever love-

And when I look into your eyes, I realize

That the moon has nothing on you-  the sun, the sea-

Anything this world can offer, any other love

I would have thought was deep and true enough.

They have nothing on you, my love-

When I look into your eyes,

There is nothing greater, warmer, stronger-  nothing I would

Give my everything to keep and to have, and nothing that

Will strike me harder when it goes. 

I will be with you when you stumble upon the very sands

Not fitting enough to carry you-

When your stomach aches or your mind suffers-

Others will revere you simply, yet the skies will understand

And be intimidated when you stare upon them

And will reflect your soul when you pause and go-

You always knew best; what mattered most-

My hero, my soul, my light-

I live to one day be the person you saw in me,

Though I do not think that is possible;

You saw in me your sun, your moon, and your ocean-

And how ironic I find that, when they bend and bow to the

Nature of your beauty;

Yet, you did-  and I will never, never leave you

And I will never let you go.

I will never forget you, and I will never feel that pounding

In my chest towards anything else in this world-

Just you.  You, forever.

I think my heart a million parts,

And you will take nearly all when you leave-

But they are yours to have, to keep, to hold

When you go to that place where you’ll never grow old.

- Shannon Murphy