Second Hand Music

A path in shadows
from overhead branches,
claws launching into
a dog’s howl

one pup staring
at the sun, warmth
on his back
arrows in his side

and the pain
now bearable as
numbness is soothing,
an eagle and
another lost dog
head for the nest.

Such memories
tease me back
into childhood
dreaming.

© Richard L. Provencher