I put Shasta down

Well, the vet did, but

I was there in a blue

plastic chair whispering

good girl  mama’s good girl

Her chest was full of fluid

She couldn’t breathe

That evening I took a walk

at the same time we always

took a walk and when I

came up the slope just past

the ditch with the big rocks

the sunrise was orange

The same orange as Shasta

I began to sob and I was glad

no one else was around

The more orange the sky

became, the more I cried

I tried to tell myself the sky

was a sign from Shasta and

I tried to let her go, but it

has been 360 days since then

and my heart still aches