Rhonda

I named you after
A German shepherd
I loved as a child
You aren’t a dog
But you’re the closest
This planet can provide

I found you alone
Young enough to be gentled
Until you were loyal
And loving, you slept
At the foot of my bed
Your head on my feet

I bury you now in the place
I first found you, wrapped
In a biolock film to keep
Others of your kind safe
They told us the local fauna
Might make us sick

They forgot to say the reverse
Also applied
I should have left you alone
To live or die as this world
Demanded—not indulged the humanity
That ultimately did you in


—Gerri Leen