howling soon

unlike the solitary wolf when

his howl is no longer heard
by the moon, the stars or the
sleeping owl whose diurnal trail
of forest wild flowers where 
it once laid its head upon
and no longer feels its warmth and breath

its prey no longer fears its

intrepid blue eyed stare
gawking, stalking, with its
canine pack whose absence is
now noticed from its herding place
where once it roamed and howled
at the stars of night

my canine friend, his curious
loving stare with dark brown eyes

lays his head upon my lap
while I stream the artful words
writ upon a leaf made from
a tree that once gave shelter
in the forest to his ancestry

unlike his ancester the wolf

whose absence is felt by the wind
and the moon, this human heart
shall ache, many tears will flow,
in the absence of his warmth
and his beating heart that has
been so loved and still
resting upon my lap

although still lying next to me

his moans of aging aches and pain
I feel deeply in my own bones
for soon in days to come
I must let his body rest
and free his soul to enter
into where love never sleeps
that ethereal nest