Ink & Shadows: The Words of Osiris j Reapor

Your coat still shines like mountain snow,
Though silver marks the years.
A wolf’s dark mask still frames your face,
I’ve loved beyond my fears.

Your ears still rise to greet my voice,
Your tail still sweeps the air.
Though age has slowed your faithful stride,
You always meet me there.

You’ve walked beside me through the storms
That no one else could see.
When cancer came and spoke my name,
You never once left me.

You never asked for anything,
No riches, praise, or fame.
You only cared that I came home,
And always knew my name.

You’ve seen the birthdays, Christmas lights,
The laughter and the tears.
You measured not your life in days,
But tail wags through the years.

You were never made for summer’s heat,
But mountains dressed in white.
Your silver coat was stitched for snow,
Your soul for winter’s light.

And now the sun hangs high above,
The days are hot and long.
Yet every gray upon your face
Reminds me time moves on.

So every night I bow my head
To any God who’ll hear.
I do not beg for all tomorrows,
Just one more winter here.

One more trail through falling snow,
Your paw prints next to mine.
One more Christmas by the tree,
One last December’s pine.

One more morning in the cold,
Where frosted branches pass.
One more mountain, side by side,
Before you’re called at last.

Just one more winter, my doggie.
If it’s not too much to ask.
Just one more winter, please…
to spend with you before you pass.