Prayers for Gus

from Out With Lanterns

At the 24-hour animal hospital, 
late, dark, quiet, only one woman
waits silently with us. We say
nothing to each other.
No one wants to be here. 
We scroll on our phones. 
It’s dark outside the glass door
when my husband sees two ears 
and a squished face peer in.
A man walks in with his two dogs,
a french and american bulldog.
The dogs greet us one by one
and we coo and laugh at their
snorting and butt wiggles.
He tells us he works here, 
was just taking his babies out. 
After they’re gone, I see that
we are all lit up from the inside.
The woman smiles at us, tells us 
about Gus, her 16-year-old pug
whose back legs just went out. 
We tell her about our Sunny 
who had to have abdominal
surgery yesterday, how we 
are here to take her home. 
Then a tech brings Gus out, 
walking just fine now, and 
we all gasp, cheer, and 
there are tears in her eyes. 
All it is is love. This night,
like so many others, it's
dogs who show me the way.