The Dog Disappears.

We search for twenty minutes then go on with our day.
The kids put up signs; Lost Dog Looking For Home, Lost.
The man at the shelter said most pit-bulls end up like this.
Sometimes I crawl on the ground to remind myself how she saw.

Blue pits protected by security blankets.
Walking with her was always a battle.
She shivered at the idea of being alone.

She and I used to take the path by the Fire Station.
A fireman once came out and said to me,
I think pit-bulls were God’s gift to us.
Isn’t that sweet?

Lost dogs can’t have pillows at shelters.
Gone wagging tail, gone bug-eyed eyes.
Lost dogs leave pillows behind when they leave home.
When lost dogs leave home they leave with more than they came with.

There is a pit-bull-shaped hole in my heart,
a heart-shaped rip in the carpet where she chewed it,
and at night I hear her whimpering,
wondering why her people left her.