I used to swing the door wide, Backpack thudding to the floor, And there you'd be—tail a blur, Joy stitched into every bark. Your paws knew the rhythm of my return, Like clockwork, like heartbeat, Like home. Now the door still opens, The backpack still drops, But the silence is louder than ever. I wait for the thump of paws, The whirl of fur, The welcome that never comes. Still, I swear I hear you sometimes— In the creak of the floorboards, In the hush between footsteps, In the way the light falls just right. You were more than a dog. You were the exclamation point At the end of every school day.