Cold Blue Shadow

In the cold blue shadow behind the shed,

Blue had dug himself a shallow bed in the dirt,

out of the sun and the heat of a summer day,

and lay down, his nose curled under his tail,

peering out through tired, rheumy eyes to watch

us working in the fields beyond, too old now

to romp about behind us, to give chase

to the squirrels and rabbits brave enough to enter

the meadow. And by the end of the day

as we washed the dirt from our hands and arms

and the backs of our necks, peeling off our shirts

wet with sweat, he had slipped away, alone and undisturbed.

We buried him on the ridge in the cold blue shadow of an old elm

as the sun slid behind the horizon, and in darkness

we hid our tears and bid him farewell, an old friend romping

now in the meadows of an afterlife where the good dogs go,

squirrels and rabbits to chase and a shallow bed dug to lie in,

out of the sun and the heat of a summer day.