Canis Familiaris

By David Ray Martin

How can I live without you?

If never again will our eyes meet

The loyalty that you bestowed to me alone

Forgive me for being locked away

While you stare,

Wondering at a desolate street.

You were my friend

If ever there were one at all

In time of need you were by my side

With merely the utterance of a call.

You have two keen ears to hear

Two beautiful eyes to see

A black tongue and white teeth

And a beating heart – just like me.

We spoke our own language

We sat on the couch