Author: Patricia Schoenberger

He’d lost everybody
Everthing
All he had was the
Clothes on his back,
And his dog, Piper.
She was his last friend,
He’d known her
Most of his life,
Watched her mother
Birth her litter on
His bed.
She didn’t care
That his clothes were dirty
And torn,
Didn’t care
That maybe he smelled
Just a little.

They shared everything|
What little they found
Scrounged for
In the dumpster
Behind the Irish pub
Down the block,
Or maybe once
In a while, he’d treat
Them to a sub
At Subway, if the
Panhandling take
Was good that day.

She followed him
Faithfully, entrusting
Him with her life
Her adoration for him
Reflected in large
Innocent brown eyes.
He would go hungry
Before she would,
If she was cold
He covered her with
His only coat.
She was his everything
Now that he had
Lost it all,
She was his only companion,
His only comfort,
His most faithful friend
In a world full of misery.