Under Penalty of Death

I swear and attest, under penalty of death, of this I know.
My dog absolutely loves Tom Ka Khai soup and Camembert cheese. Of this I know. No doubt on this score.
And I am the lucky man who is able to give her these worldly treats.
May the world keep spinnin’.
Bring on the Camembert! Bring on the Tom Ka Khai!.
Water for everyone! We gotta look good!!

She's Gone

If you have never held your loved one close, her head in your arms, kissing her face, telling her how much you love her as her last breaths get slower and slower, your tears never ending as she exhales her last breath, then you will never know the true meaning of loss.
I now know loss in the most specific sense of the term.
Not from merely missing as in memory, here today, gone tomorrow, nary a step missed, life goes on! But by holding them close as they leave not only the confines of this earth, but of your love, too.
Even though I gave her the dignity she deserved in her last day, being there with her as she left, just as she came into my lap for the first time, telling me in her own inimitable way she belonged with me, my tears just won’t stop.
I have lost. I have gained. And for this, I suffer, lesson be damned.