Days used to yearn for a reason to continue.
going through the motions
Everything was  

Heavy.

and

grey.

and  

so  

so      

exhausting.

The house was tense
It felt quiet and empty.
Even though it was full.

We were prepared to lose her
But that did not seem to make it easier
When we lost her.

Mom had insisted:
“Not another”
But time had a way of changing your mind.

The day of we drove up
Thirty-two minutes
Felt more like thirty-two years

We walked down the driveway
Through the dewy air
To the noisy shed filled with animals.

A litter of Puppies- five months of age
In a small play-pen
They YIP! and they BARK!
Trampling each other.
Some hide in the darker corners of the cage,
hiding
While others fight for a look
Hope to be chosen
By us.


They all have curly matted hair
Of many different colors
Their eyes are barely visible
through the mat of their fur.

After meeting a few, one escapes the pen
She runs to greet us
Yipping and wiggling with excitement

She starts with my mom

Jumping up licking her face
Wagging her tail so fast
I think her spine might break

Then to my dad
They both smile so big
As she jumps up on his knees
to give him a kiss

Then she comes to me.
After my sister

She jumps up on me
Giving me kisses
Then she goes to run with excitement
From my mom
To my dad
My sister
And me
Again
and
again
And
again.

And as of that day we were hers

After that day
My days had reason to continue
We laugh and we love as we come home
To a wagging tail and lots of love
She is sunny
The ray of sunshine
That somehow manages to light up
The dark corners of my mind
She's the bright to my dark