The house is quiet But not peaceful It’s the kind of silence That echoes with absence His bowl is still there His leash untouched But it’s the empty corners That hurt the most I see him in shadows In sunbeams on the floor In the way my heart flinches When I forget he’s gone I cry at the smallest things A toy, a bark on TV Because grief doesn’t ask permission It just arrives, and stays I want to move on Not to forget But to let him rest To let him know I’m okay But I’m not Not yet And maybe that’s alright Maybe love this deep Deserves time to unravel So I’ll sit in the silence And listen for his memory Until the ache softens And the love remains