Poetry Sisters Write Epistolary Poems

The challenge this month was to write an epistolary poem in the form of a love letter or Valentine. I missed our Zoom on Sunday, so I have no idea what approach my poetry peeps are taking. I hadn't given the topic of this one much thought until I sat down to write and decided to address some very sad news I received this week. 

This is my buddy Cooper. We rescued him about 6 weeks after our first rescue, Sydney, was put to sleep following a short and nasty battle with cancer. In just a few days we'll celebrate Cooper's 10th "Gotcha" Day. 

This is Cooper on February 26, 2014, his first day in his forever home.

This is Cooper enjoying a Pup Cup after a visit to the vet on Tuesday.

Here's my poem.

Love Letter to My Dying Dog

Dearest Cooper,

It's sad really

how often you're called by something 

other than your given name

  Stinky Breath

   Honey Bunny

    Butt Licker

     Goodyear

      Asshat

I hope you can forgive your father

that last one

Your penchant for eating couch cushions 

and stealing his sandwiches 

has made him perpetually grumpy

I adore you, you know

there was never any question of it

You wormed your way into my heart

the first time I laid eyes on you

You were a scrawny thing 

a counter surfer from day one

as life on the streets taught you to

grab any food you could find 

to survive

Survive you did 

but more than that 

you thrived

giving and receiving more love 

than we ever imagined

Your deafness was a hurdle

we learned to negotiate

but sometimes I think 

you were happy  

to tune out the world 

live in the silence of your head

you were never bothered by 

thunder or fireworks

like your predecessor was

You reluctantly tolerated the old girl

we rescued during COVID

showing first your anger and disdain

(you didn't sleep with me for weeks!)

until you adopted an air of 

casual indifference

It was clear, however

that you missed her 

once she was gone

Do you know that 

I'm marking time now?

That extra treats and kisses

signal the beginning 

of the end?

That your days have been numbered

by cancer's ugly return?

My heart longs for more

  More walks

   More hugs

    More time

But I also pray for less

  Less pain

   Less heartache

    Less loss

I know there will be tears

and sadness

I will embrace them 

while I see you through this

long goodbye

I will be by your side

to the very end

You'll never have to wonder

how I feel about you

my beautiful, sweet boy

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2024. All rights reserved.

You can find the poems shared by my Poetry Sisters at the links below. 

• Tanita Davis
• Mary Lee Hahn
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Kelly Ramsdell
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Liz Garton Scanlon

Would you like to try the next challenge? In March, we’re writing in the form of the pantoum. The pantoum is a Malaysian verse form comprised of a series of quatrains, with the second and fourth lines of each quatrain repeated as the first and third lines of the next. You can learn more about this form at The Philadelphia Writer's Workshop and Masterclass. Are you in? Good! You have a month to craft your creation and share it on March 29th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!  

Please take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy poetry Friday, friends!