Drifting Sands, issue 26, March 2024
Grateful to Anna Cates, Guest Editor, & dear Richard Grahn, Founding Editor for the acceptance & publication of this portentous haibun, dedicated to our beloved Rumi who breathed her last yesterday on 30th March.
Twilight Years
Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India
“If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
Will Rogers
Winter is almost over and Spring flowers have started to bloom in the garden. The noon sunshine is pleasant after the bitterly cold days and I sit on the garden swing to warm my old bones. My beloved pet lies on the grass beside me. Looking at her weak and aged body, I am reminded of the joyful summer day fourteen years back, when we brought her home—adorable as all yellow labrador pups: lively, loving and curious.
Every morning she made us run, chasing her to get back our socks or slippers depending on the season. As she grew bigger she loved playing catch ball with me and football with the kids in the park. She ran faster than the boys, balancing the football on her nose. On a car ride, seeing her bright eyes, head out of the window and flapping ears were a delight.
Today it’s her appointment with the vet for the monthly steroid injection as her hind legs are failing fast. With difficulty we lift her on to the back seat of the car. I stroke her head and roll down the glass window.
fading light …
a dragonfly flits
this floating world
Read the journal here:
https://drifting-sands-haibun.org/
Thanks dear son Prakarsh for the endearing poster.
