Poetry
Today, on National Pet Day, I think of all my dogs: Benji, the chocolate Spoodle; Geldof, the black and white Jack Russell Terrier/Springer Spaniel cross; Scully, my first blonde Goldendoodle; and Eloise, the blonde Goldendoodle who lives with me now.
This poem was written about Scully when I was going through the most difficult time of my life. The gratitude I have for her and all of my pets is eternal. They are the closest souls to God I’ll ever know.
The Closest Soul to God
A poem by ©Christine Bode, 2014
It’s the last month of my sister’s life,
and I know it.
Tonight, I cried so hard I couldn’t see, and
I couldn’t breathe.
I cried until the tears streamed down my face and
I choked on my snot.
I cried until the grief in my chest threatened to
inflate me to the most enormous mass of human pain in the
history of the Universe while I begged and pleaded
with God
to send someone to just hold me—
but no one came.
No one was ever there in the early part of the morning,
and no one was there late at night.
No man ever put his arms around me, even once,
in the last six months and told me he’d be there for me
if I needed him because my sister is dying.
Not one single man among all the men I’ve ever known in
my entire life.
The only being who was there for me every single day of
these twenty-five months of torture is my dog, and she
has borne the weight of my grief, loneliness, and woe,
without complaint or fail or falter.
She lies beside me every night and lets me touch her
and listen to her breathing until I can fall asleep,
giving me the strength I need to face the next day.
She proves that the purpose of every dog in the world is
to teach human beings about the value, strength, and power
of unconditional love.
So, the next time you’re about to say to me
(or anyone else) that she’s just a dog,
think again,
because she is not just a dog.
She is the closest soul to God I’ll ever know.
Read more poetry by Christine Bode in her latest collection, Eden Redefined.
Eden Redefined is available on:
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