Tyson
You weren’t just a dog, you were family,
Four paws and a heart that beat beside ours.
The house is quieter now—
No paws tapping, no tail thumping walls—
but your spirit still follows the sunlight.
You taught us joy in simple things:
a game, a walk, a waiting gaze,
and how love asks for nothing
except to be returned.
Now you chase dreams the way you chased sticks—
endless fields, no fences, no pain.
We’ll carry you in every story told,
in every space where your warmth remains.
Sleep well, old friend.
You were loved more than words can say
by Jamie Kennedy
This is a poem that says everything it needs to say, and much more, about its subject, a much-missed family pet. I especially liked, ‘how love asks for nothing /except to be returned’, for the way in which it is immediately followed by ‘Now you chase dreams the way you chased sticks —’. Neatly structured throughout, the poem turns towards its closure with a satisfying completeness.