A Paw-Printed Heart

Footfalls silent against the aging overgrown trail
Spurred by nature's breath singing a lonesome song.
Drifting numbly forward to forlorn emotions frail
And no softened ground catching my upcoming swoon.

Pale fading petals shrivel and shed
Blanketing stone brushed by paw and palm
A steadfast symbol always I dread
Heartbreaking past hostile to care and calm.

Love buried in the ground,
too soon gone to mother earth's bed.
Pain sings in the sound
We knew she was loved, they said.

Furry little missile zooms through the garden
Explosion of energy booms then dies.
That toothy terror begs for a quick pardon
Mischievous yet innocent big brown eyes.

Similar browns once stared back at me
Now long gone but never replaced.
Guiltiness slows with time and now she
Helps heal my heart, shame displaced.

RIP Aubrey