Two of Us
By Dan Hardison
The dog is in the yard
and wanders around sniffing
then stops and looks around.
Now she appears confused,
I stepped back inside the house
and she cannot find me.
Her hearing is almost gone
and her eyesight is failing,
age is taking its toll.
She takes a few steps, stops,
the head turning side to side
then moving again, searching.
I move towards her now
and when close, she sees me,
then starts walking towards me.
I can imagine a sigh of relief
as she follows me to the house
safe again by my side.
Her unflinching eyes look at me
as if I am all the world to her,
but she is everything to me.
Yet I know the day will come
when I will have to walk
with loneliness by my side.
Dan Hardison is a native of Tennessee and now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. A writer and artist, Dan's artwork is inspired by Japanese woodblocks and ink painting (sumi-e). As an artist and writer, he is drawn to the Japanese haiga – a combination of image and poem. This inspired him to create handmade artist books. His work has appeared in Frogpond, Cattails, Contemporary Haibun Online, Drifting Sands, and other print and online journals. Dan's work can be found on his website Windscape Studio & blog Some Tomorrow’s Morning.