A Poem for Shayna

The day starts cold, as
An unwelcome voice grates in the dark.
Morning comes again.

Stumble in the dark to find clothes
Then to the shower to wash
The sleep from my clouded brain.
As always, too tired.

Then to the kitchen
Small voices rise in good morning calls
So as not to allow me to
Forget their breakfast.

One more breakfast to be made
Water is boiled. Fresh stew is warmed.
Yogurt is added with care.

Downstairs it goes
Fresh water laid out. Toys examined
New papers laid in preparation.

Back upstairs I turn on the light.
A small face peers out at me, not
Quite willing to give up her warm nest
In the crate.

I open the door and call her.
She stands and stretches after her
Night of confinement.
And greets me with a smile and wiggles
That betray the joy in her small body.

We go outside to start the day.
Then come in. She says good morning to daddy.
Then waits patiently at the door to the basement.

She would rather not spend her day in the kennel,
But accepts it now as part of the day.
She enters the kennel, and tastes her breakfast,
Then looks up at me as I switch the radio on
And with a heavy heart, turn to leave.

Fighting traffic, I join the drones
All on our way to somewhere we
Would rather not be.

Arriving there, to fires burning.
Doing my best to keep my head
Above water.

Feeling as though I am drowning
Stress is a constant companion.
Will there be a job tomorrow?
Do I want it? How will I survive?

Finally, the whistle blows.
I join the hordes of people
Headed out, short of temper
Short of tolerance, I sink into my own
Little world.

It seems like hours before
I turn into my home.
Though it was only one.

Downstairs I turn
To release her from her prison.
She greets me again with joy
In her every movement.

She runs to the door
Begging me to let her out
To see the sky and run on the grass.

Sitting there,
Watching the sun gilt her coat with copper
The muscles playing under her skin,
It is hard to believe this is the same rolly polly
Puppy who entered my life such a short time ago.

She comes to greet me a second time.
Placing her paws over my shoulders
Giving soft kisses, and telling me
How happy she is to be with me.

There in the golden sunshine
With my fingers buried in her soft fur
My cheek against her warm side,
And smelling the gentle scent that is wholly hers
I relax. For the first time this day I feel like I belong

I look into her eyes and see
An awesome gift. The trust
That I will protect her, and do her no harm.
The love and affection that
She showers on me.

A great hole in my life
Has been mended.
I had not realized how
Large and tattered this hole
Had become.

Until this little girl
Came to live with me,
Wrapped my heart up
And patched the ragged
Pieces of my soul.