A Boy, a Dog Named Fillip

Full of life but barely breathing Bleary with the way your brown eyes shine Rising like smoke, dark fur streams through And gently dances like the fire Fillip was a boy, a dog, driven away by time Cracking joints and bones and gnawing at his own lifeline He bears the name of someone else and then he bears his sharp canines He jumped into the lake, knowing he won’t come out alive His teeth — the stars, his fur — the sky, his eyes — black holes expanding To warm his grave the sun will rise Over the water hanging