Bob Stewart - Misha Memorial

My old Mastiff Misha came to me through an unplanned chain of events following my attempt to get one of her pups. She was my dog and I was her person for a long time. She died while I was less than a week into a four-week trip, and I didn't find out until the morning I went to retrieve her from the kennel where our dogs stay when they can't go with us.

The next day I wrote "Visiting Angel".

Misha will always hold a warm, soft place in my heart, and missing her will always bring tears. She was a good dog.

Some months later I heard that a friend's Mastiff had died. He quoted a Percy Shelley poem, "The Dirge," to express his feelings and ended by saying, "I miss my friend." That reminded me deeply of the still empty place that Misha filled and I wrote "Empty Places."

Visiting Angel

An angel studied God's green earth,
Laid out so far below,
And wondered what it would be like
To feel the sun's warm glow.

"Almighty God," the angel sang,
"There's much that's soft and warm.
I'd like to visit your green earth,
and wear a mortal form."

"This can be done," the Lord replied,
"But human you can't be.
You'll have a task, be well equipped,
And life on earth you'll see."

When days were short, in winter's time,
Was born a mastiff pup,
With instinct strong to love and watch,
And taste of life's sweet cup.

A family came and took her home,
She grew in warmth and love,
A gentle spirit, giant's strength,
As planned by God above.

A baby boy found stairs to climb,
His mother working near,
And in the pool he fell, unseen,
To drown, unheard, in fear.

But mastiff instinct's strong and wise,
Though seeming dull, alert;
She pulled the baby from the pool,
His life she saved, unhurt.

The family grew, her pups she bore,
She tended all the same,
A gentle watcher, strong and brave,
And Misha was her name.

The years went by, a stranger came,
A growing dream to voice,
A pup he sought, and Misha found
Ideal to bear his choice.

But winds of life blow as they will,
Our plans go oft astray,
The family's fortunes were not good,
And no pups came to stay.

The family's burdens were too much,
Their dogs new homes would need.
So would the man take Misha's care
And carry on her seed?

Though not the pup he first had wished,
His dream could still be saved.
He'd keep her and when time was ripe,
She'd bear the pup he craved.

So quickly then a new bond formed,
Between a dog and man,
But time marched on without a chance
To carry out his plan.

For seven years she lived with him,
She showed him how to wait,
To be content with what you got,
To love without debate.

One autumn day he traveled far,
He left her with a friend,
But she took sick, her old, soft heart,
Could not her life defend.

The morning came when he returned,
To take her to his side,
His friend's sad duty to inform,
"Three weeks ago she died."

And in God's house an angel sang,
"My visit now is done,
A life preserved, a lesson shown,
And time spent in the sun."

Empty Places

A sound that's missing in the night,
A quiet, rumbling snore.
A footstep missing on the porch,
A scratching at the door.

A touch that's missing on my hand,
A nose that's cold and wet.
A pressure missing on my knee,
A head to reach and pet.

A slobbered stain high on the wall,
No mouth to sling its mate.
A well-gnawed bone beneath a chair,
No teeth to make it grate.

An empty aching in my heart,
A void I'll never fill.
I miss my friend, my big, old dog,
I know I always will.