The adults around the teevee
are watching images of adorable doggies
in supine states.
“Awww”s abound.
The soundtrack is melancholy.

The children are out back
on the indoor porch
playing with the stuffed pets
trying to get them to behave.

Great Aunt Sally is using the giant soup bone for…
soup, I guess.
There is no one else in the house
to gnaw on the giant thing.

All the four-legged friends
have left the home.
The pets have abandoned this place.

Everyone to love has all gone away.

There is no explanation for this state of affairs.
Some disappeared of their own accord.
Some were sent away with the help of a speeding car
or a misplaced raccoon
or unprotected poison.
Some went to farms up north.
But now they’re all gone
and no one has replaced them.

Where is the spirit
for the pets of this house?
How will that energy be returned?