I take the long way to avoid Jepatio Street
Where we had the terrible accident with our grey dog
That April she crashed through the window
And went flying, bloody and mangled
In slow motion.
I can't recall any words between us.
There must have been something, don't you agree?
We pulled the car over at A.J.'s Restaurant
And ran to our dying love.
We should have put her to sleep, my friend,
Had we any dignity.
God will punish us
For dragging her around,
Making waiters set plates for her,
Having Walter pour her a Guinness at McGuire's in Destin.
Her slow death pulled knots inside us.
It was just so hard to let go.
Sometimes I remember
Toting her severed leg around on ice,
That hopeful look in her cobalt irises
That she might live to love another week,
That we might snap our magic fingers
And erase that bump in the road.