My Beautiful Miss Nikki.

This poem breaks my heart. I wrote it recently about losing my dog, Nikki. She was a 10-year-old beagle who was taken way too soon. While I still have Cleo in my life, and now have another puppy named Brady, a piece of my heart is missing with the loss of Nikki, as she and I had an incredible bond. Every time I came home from college, she was so excited to see me, and I likewise. Even the day I came home to say goodbye, she still got up to greet me, as this poem demonstrates. I love you, my baby girl, and I hope you're keeping daddy company. My life isn't the same without either of you.


My Beautiful Miss Nikki

Your eyes tried to shine in devastating moments
of weakness, and my heart leapt at the painful
sentiment of knowing you were to leave.
With legs that’d lost their strength, you rose
to greet me still with your happiness that
was shown with your joyful tail.
Your coat still smooth and shiny, I shook
seeing how what was underneath had
begun to waste away even with desperate attempts
of trying to keep you safe and sound.
You lived with a willingness greater than that of beings
much larger, and the daunting task of deciding your fate
is still impossible to live with as I remember how hard you tried.
I hope you felt some comfort as we sat in our chair; your head found
solace underneath my chin, and your paw was placed
restfully on my shoulder; my breath then taken away from
the sadness that poured out of my regretful eyes.
I thought back to so many other times that we sat
together, drifting off to sleep or just enjoying each other’s company,
but the other times didn’t have that constraint
of knowing you would never be in our chair again.