i just want this pup
to soften the world’s pain
i’m feeling right now

fish chowder Monday
to beg for fall’s return home
after too much heat

puppy in a pack
(though he hiked most of the way)
so happy with him

my puppy earns love
from every childhood friend
in our neighborhood

our dream puppy day
began with a Kansas drive
to find fluff sweetness

how perfect, Haitz
my Basque-inspired baby
who steals all our hearts

my empty nest dog
without any teenage sass
just love, puppy love

and you’d know better

when words–NAMES–form on your tongue

how to pronounce them

you would see the loss

in every pre-marked brick house

soon to be rubble

in just seventeen

you would learn word challenges

in our English tongue

to know how it hurts

you’d engulf in a venture

of second language

wildfire haze

makes a splendid sun event

even before dusk