to give away a dog

To give away a dog 

without a goodbye
is to cry into your pillow
all through the night and no one hears you.

To know that she touched your soul
is to carry the heavy burden.
She is forgiven of all her sins:
the swallowed sock,
the chipped away wall edges,
the chewed away holes in the tiles.

Now you are reminded of
her empty room,
the spare bathroom she claimed as her own.
Now you wish you had spent more time
with her,
not ignoring her bark
and excluding her bite.
You wish you yourself could’ve seen her go,
been there when another chose her
and although you wish you could’ve been there
you know that would be no good.
Fighting it along the way,
You still wouldn't want her to go.
You’d plea with fate and
circumstances to keep her
not paying attention to what is best
for the both of you.