Dog Days
Nothing sturdy in the stem.
Nor of legacy in the one-season leaf.
All dogs must die, but not at once.
Like grass, let’s grow monuments
too numerous to be destroyed
in a single death. We’ll sit with this one
through the moments
we’ll not remember in a year
to remember we can build
what matters from pure light
recognize love same as we know
the texture of both sides
of this summer leaf waving
welcome and farewell
in the single breeze passing
from invisible past
to invisible future. All dogs
like summers will pass
but not before we live them
through. Let’s leap into
the coming stillness.
Let’s make the favorite meal.
Let’s sit with this one, no more
special than a blade of grass,
great as any dog or summer ever lost,
and let it last as long as it lasts
Translations from the English 