Old Friend

I remember
Teeth marks in styrofoam.
I’d paddle
Past the shorebreak
Against your will.
You’d fetch me,
Jaw clenching board,
And return to land.
The occasional snap
Sinking in my skin.

I remember
Your foreleg casted,
A hatred materialized.
That Vee Dub sputter,
Like cat caws at midnight,
Summoned a sprint
That ended in a limp
And cries all around.

I remember
Shimmering tent vinyl.
The winter winds
Rolled ashore
And shook our shelter.
Me, coffined in flannel;
You, curled on concrete,
Wrestling the cold
And the cancer—
Undetected.

I remember
The hospital lights,
Never soft enough,
In that constricted room.
I lifted you
On the center steel table
And watched your eyes close,
As the needle withdrew,
One
Last
Time.

The paths we walked,
Each stop,
Marked by pain.