As I stepped outside
from my cool home into the heat,
the bright light made me squint
my eyes, and I called out his name...

There he lie lazily in the shade.
He didn't come, he didn't even move.
He just looked at me with his soft brown eyes;
they said it all...

Although no words were spoken
between us, I could see the pain within.
I could sense the fear, the worry.
He looked deathly sick like his spirit
was slowly fading into the next life;
any minute now he might pass...

And then a cool, gentle breeze
lifted my hair. I imagined
that his spirit could be carried
by that same breeze
like a dandelion trapped
in the wind...

Warm, salty tears began falling
from my eyes. The insects dwelling
in the grass below me
must have thought that it was raining,
but Joey & I both knew
the truth...

He was sick, maybe even on
the brink of death, and a wind gust
strong enough just might pick up
his spirit and carry it away...