He impatiently awaited his leash.

He hurriedly tugged at his collar.

He loudly barked disturbing the peace.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard the holler,

That came resoundingly from his master’s mouth,

That fell on the ears of all who were near,

And he felt the yank and tug that left no doubt

That he needed to stand still in a little fear

Of displeasing the one who had come to mean so much,

The one who loved him through and through

And the superlative other who made such a fuss and such

Over a love of the dog who proved so true,

Over the very dog who proved so true,

The now late chocolate lab who proved so very, very true

The one who has left the man and the his wife

The dog’s alpha and omega,

The truly sad two,

Alone and knowing that he was

The alpha and omega of dogs

For those two, now so alone as they look at the couch

And the chair where he slept and the box of his

Toys, yes, those, so lonely in the box, too .