by Rita Lewis
Without Him
The difference is not obvious to those who do not know
Just thorny bushes where blackberries once did grow
A lonely little dog sitting bleakly by an uneaten bowl of food
Cats lazing on the porch in a sad and sulky mood
The window blinds are hanging, all completely straight
Once again his Grandma is sleeping really late
Her firewood stacked neatly in a pile, each and every piece
How strangely sad, we thought we wanted peace
But now the silence hangs, unbroken by his knocking at the door
The kitchen is quite safe, no water from his bowl is on the floor
A sunbeam shining through the window, onto the empty chair
This sudden emptiness just seems so damn unfair.
Granddaddy takes his scooter into the woods alone
A single forlorn frisbee longing to be thrown
I still make my nightly trips, but now I go alone
The broken door, the ripped up carpet and all the things I cussed
I look at now with aching heart and lonely tenderness.
Every now and then you can hear the catch in daddy's manly voice
Or Christopher in his lonely bed, as he makes a restless noise.
Even though some time has passed and his mama tries and tries
She cannot hide the tears still welled up in her saddened eyes.
Every day we tell ourselves such sad and futile lies
Because we hurt so much, we say that he will be the last
The emptiness he's left behind cannot be filled so very fast.
Despite the pain our life goes on, as we know it must
But never will it be the same without him here with us
His memory will always be with us, our loving, loyal friend
And one day for all of us the blackberries will ripen once again.