Requiem for a Death Foretold

Requiem for a Death Foretold
(An eternity in dog years shall pass)

Larry Piltz, for Mir

My enduring sense of love for you
is not diminished by my betrayal
of your most basic trust

But what is sacrifice
and whose
and what suffering will suffice
for how long
and why
what are its spiritual dimensions
on both sides of the veil
and the parameters
of loss

The hope is to love
and discern
to live well
and die well
the trick is on you and me
as you still struggle to survive
I become your coyote stalker
such that forever now my howls
join your silent
final one

[January 15, 2009]