A prose poem: The Certain End of Innocence

(Wrote a version of this about 6 years ago)

Benji

My heart was heavy that day as our adopted little friend Benji slipped under a fence, likely chasing a chipmunk or a squirrel, and met with an accidental death, hit by a car and dying instantly sometime in the night. Unaware of his absence, we searched the house and the backyard in the morning, only to find him lifeless in the street in front of our home.

Carrying his cold and stiff body, I brought him back to our yard, and my wife burst into tears, hoping against hope that he was still alive. His body slowly went limp, loosening in the warmth of my own, as if it, he, was relieved to have been found. Our hearts filled with grief and regret as we said our final goodbyes, remembering his iron tenacity, fierce playfulness, and how his diminutive size (Benji was half the size of our two other 20lbs dogs) made him more vulnerable, leading to his displays of power.

As I dug a hole and gently placed him in the garden, we felt a deep emptiness and acknowledged our shortcomings in protectin…