I recognized that look on his face 

As his family started to pack up and walk away 

That feeling of hollowness, of loss, of despair – can resonate

Like ripples of water in the still bay

He stood there on the shoreline 

You’d think someone had died

He was still holding a stick in his mouth 

And the sun was still out 

He looked so confused 

His ears and eyes drooped

I thought it threw 

And I chased his masters, complete strangers, up into the dunes

Said, “Please, stay. Our pups can play. Whatever you’re headed to can wait.”

I pleaded as I pointed back to that pup 

And mine, who had sidled up 

He was soaking wet, holding a Wilson tennis ball 

The loan German shepherd was standing in the water 

That man and woman stood for a moment, sighed, and returned with me to the low tide 

I told the couple I was so glad they stalled

That German shepherd’s ears perked

His master through that stick again into the bay 

I threw the tennis ball 

My Golden retriever dove in 

On that beach, the world was right again