Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Warner Woods

I walked in the woods today without you
and saw your black shadow
everywhere I went.
I heard you run
after the squirrels
and felt you brush past my leg
as I rounded narrow corners.
I sat on your favorite bench,
the one you marked each time we came,
and I smiled at the other dogs who passed by with their owners.
I walked up the steep hill,
the one you led me up
when you were young,
the one you trailed behind me on
in later years,
and I wrapped my arms across my stomach
trying to hold you in.
It has been six months since you’ve been gone
and I miss you more each day.
The leaves are yellow now
just the way you liked them.