fallen since Christmas,
I pull the husky
in the child's
blue sled to the copse
of birch. He froze
in the night
after I lugged him
from the dog house
where he struggled for
the warmth that
cold and snow
drained slowly from
heart and bone,too weak to eat or crawl
except on forepaws,
hind legs useless
that once steered
sled teams
and cut tracks
where only wolves,
moose, and elk
peregrinate.
I exposed him
to the cold and snow
to die fighting, majestic
and proud in memory
like the stud he was.
Under birch I
covered him with straw.
Days later, the crows caw,
and their feast
fills the air
that frosts the throat.
Coyotes cackle
from there at night.
May my death
find such regard
and satiate
the sky
with dark music.
(c) copyright 2012 Charles David Miller. All rights reserved.
Posted with Blogsy
A very sad write; but it is nature's way. One wonders if animals view death anywhere close to the way humans do.
ReplyDeleteElegant, proud, heartfelt.....this got me.....I mean it....something about mans connection to his dog.... And against the backdrop of that winter scene.....damn well choked me up.....AND THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN! I thought I was dead inside....thank you Charles....this poem is bloody brilliant
ReplyDeleteWow, this poem was absolutely amazing. You can feel the raw emotion so clearly
ReplyDeleteThere is a deep reflected cold in this, mortality, yet also, intent, and it's ambiguous in enough spots that one can read it up or down the scale. The ritual of death becomes one with its place in the scheme of things, its necessity, and our own need to make it signify. This is a very unadorned piece of writing, yet it seems infinite and deep as the boundless, unstoppable snow.
ReplyDeleteCharles Miller...you've just up and ripped my heart out with this one. To sacrifice our own thoughts, to let him go to rest as a champion, to spend that one last night as it was meant to be spent...that takes a much stronger person than me...an amazing pen, Poet!
ReplyDeleteAwww.... that must have been heart breaking but, he did have a wild and a warriors death. So, so sad though.
ReplyDeleteSnow ... in the midst of summer heat ... how did you do this?
ReplyDeleteIt is, nevertheless, a most powerful, touching, moving poem
Love the use of cold and snow as a metaphor for the majesty of death ~
ReplyDeleteThe feast for the animals afterwards was a beautiful song to the mystery of death ~
dude you just ripped the heart strings....i think though you gave him what he needed in the end...and it is the way...it happens and better he spend his last in the elements he loved...i can only hope for as much...
ReplyDeletebeautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit to crying.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful
ReplyDeleteYou made me cry. I could feel the biting cold, the loss, the respect.
ReplyDeleteThis intensity is real, beyond sadness, there is nobility here and the rightness of nature. From life to life we replenish even as we breathe no more. Well said, proud and poignant!
ReplyDeleteThis touched my heart. I so love dogs. Beyond this, it made me think of the importance of death (and life) with dignity for humans and animals. I love how your words elicit such emotion.
ReplyDelete/may my death/find such regard/and satiate/the sky/with dark music/--the last stanza a stand alone poem of itself; a grand gesture, a tough love effort. Most of us take the canine to the Vet, and hold them as they lick our hands just as the needle of death punctures their breath, and feel them go slack in our arms as their beautiful souls circle the room observing the torrent of tears that will last years.
ReplyDeleteoh heck chaz...that gave me shivers...excellent description...the scene..the mood and then the closure -- so tight with us wanting things to make sense beyond life -- such strong images all through.. loved it
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful and atmospheric piece that circles the concept of a dignified death we all hope to experience when our time comes. What a moving piece of poetry. Exquisitely done x
ReplyDeleteWow. The sadness, and the decision to bring dignity to dead. I feel sad about the dog, your poem touched me. Great job.
ReplyDeletepowerful. heartfelt. honoring the patterns of life.
ReplyDeleteVery good Charles. Tearful and painful and heart wrenching, but good.
ReplyDeleteA very powerful poem, Charles, with a definite point of view that frankly is not so common in our world - maybe commonly proclaimed but not carried out. The crisp but poignant descriptions are really well done and the end, I found, especially powerful--the crows and carrion and the dark music. In the end though, I think the most poignant detail (for me) was the child's sled. Really well done. k.
ReplyDeleteOh, so sad... powerful!!
ReplyDeleteThis brought tears. It is a powerful write about death. I too find the child's sled poignant. It is a passage of dignity....I love the ending
ReplyDelete"May my death find such regard and satiate the sky with dark music."
omnia mors vincit.
ReplyDeleteOw. Oh. It is unlikely that our laws would allow this kind of dignity to a human: "I exposed him / to the cold and snow / to die fighting, majestic / and proud in memory / like the stud he was." I understand your sentiment and was moved by the story but it also reminded me of a gruesome event that i have many times tried to move into the love and kindness it most probably deserved. A one-time friend of mine had her diseased dog's skin made into a drum head and little pillow to "keep him by her." And I remembered this years later in my performance piece featuring Roy Rogers and his stuffed Pinto. That's another story. Though I have mixed feelings about this piece and its bravery, I must tell you that I admire the form and economy of your telling. Very fine indeed.
ReplyDeleteSusan, you bring up great points. I would never stuff a pet that way, no matter how much I loved them. It seems odd to me. OTOH, The issue about treatment of humans in this way, is one reason I've been considering how to take thevresponsibility for it on myself. God willing, I will have the faculties to carry out the plan if/when the time comes. That way, no one coukd be help responsible for it.
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DeleteHeartbreaking and beautiful.
ReplyDeletewow, "dark music" indeed, yet, also so majestic
ReplyDeleteesp liked,
"crows caw,
and their feast
fills the air
that frosts the throat. "
a powerful tribute to us the living charles, thank you
Moving, fantastic write.
ReplyDeleteAs family member to two malamutes, I found this poem compelling. Your bravery in how you let your husky die and then wrote about him is touching. And don't we all wish that our death finds such regard. The last line about satiating the sky with dark music reminds me of the husky's (and malamutes) howls.
ReplyDeleteGod this is so sad and ripping at my heart, yet noble...and a reminder of our place in nature...all creatures.. A truly beautiful write!
ReplyDeleteThe child's blue sled really sticks out in my mind and then seeing the dog on it in my mind's eye is so heavy I had to lug it.
ReplyDeleteThis is splendid. Sad, but splendid. A brave and powerful write.
ReplyDelete