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Oh, he was a love, an absolute valentine, that
St. Brutus of the backyard and chewed up swing set when
we lived just an alleyway’s kiss from Shakey’s Pizza. You
couldn’t miss him, could always find
him, he, St. Brutus of the gentle jaws and powerful drool. So, it
left a hole, that swinging open gate, when it
became clear he’d been lured, or stolen, or sent, from us. Is
it that he had another mission, another boy or girl to rescue, to warm?
Oh, you may not have known where your new valentine came from,
but just know that it was warm from me.
© 2026 Jennifer Wagner
What’s Going On? Pets I Have Known
dVerse Poetry Form: Golden Shovel. Choose a line
from a poem and craft your poem so each line of your poem ends
with a word from your chosen line. I
chose the line “that when you find it, it is warm from me” from “Pocket Poem”
by Ted Kooser from his 2008 book, Valentines. I also used it in part as my closing line, though
that is not a requirement.
Written in memory of Brutus, beloved St. Bernard, bawling as I did so.
So heartbreaking to lose a lovable being like that, and not to know where he went and if he was okay. Devastating. Gah.
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