Remember the time we were running on Hawk’s Ridge,
on the snowmobile trail in the winter
all we could see was in my headlamp beam
and a huge owl swooped down over our heads
flew off toward the city lights
maybe not
maybe dogs don’t remember those things
and you probably didn’t know what an owl was
maybe you didn’t even see it
it was so cold
the snow was doing the dance-crystal thing
and it really doesn’t matter
cause you got sick and died, anyhow
and it took so long for me to trust you
you trusted me a long time before that
and I yelled
asked you to listen,
as if a dog always needed to listen
and not be itself
you loved us
and that might be all you ever wanted
and your brother and sister
(human, but just the same)
I’m doing the same damn thing
yelling
and asking them to be
different than themselves
and tonight, I ran past the corner where
that owl flew over us
and it was dark again,
but hot and sweaty for October
and I’m still waiting to be a better person
the one you thought I was
The Will and Why 