remembering his sounds

In lieu of 
flowers, send
him back.

-Andrea Cohen, “Refusal to Mourn”

molars crunching pizza crusts     slurping water    sniffing the wind    clicking toenails on oak floors   sighing   the thud of shifting positions on the floor    barking (only when asked “to speak”)    thundering paws running up the stairs (until he no longer could)    hiccups    whimpering for his master to come down the stairs    munching the pellets of his dry dog food    running zoomies in the grass    paws smashing through dry leaves     the flopping of his velvet ears when he shook his head    licking the inside of an ice cream carton    snuffling and dancing when he was excited    last heart beat    wall of silence       silence       silence       

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Pause for Paws, Issue 19, March 23, 2026.

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