A Dog’s World - Alina Svyrydenko
I don’t have words
But I know a million things
From the smell of the grass
From the rhythm of the breeze
From the faintest scent on a passing sleeve
I notice what you miss
A rabbit’s heartbeat beneath the brush
The trace of another dog
On the fence post from a week ago
All the little histories that cling to bark and stone
To you, it’s just a yard
A park, a patch of weeds
But to me, it’s a world of clues
Scattered like leaves
All there, all around, waiting to be read
You talk about time
While I measure moments in the length of shadows
The soft creep of dawn through leaves
The way the light slides across the floor
In warm, golden pools
I notice when your steps are slow
When your laugh doesn’t ring quite right
When your hands move to your face
And I come closer
Leaning in with ears, eyes, and nose to listen
For all the things we smell, hear, taste, and see
Your scent will always be my favorite
Stay with me, like a memory in my fur
A scent, a sound, a warmth
Maybe this is the art of being a dog
Knowing that every day is new
It is simple
It’s the art of waking each day
With your heart wide open
And your paws ready to chase whatever comes
It’s a tail that never asks why
A nose that finds joy in every scent
And eyes that see you exactly as you are
Brilliant, flawed, beautiful, and mine
I’ve always been good at noticing
The way the seasons changed in the yard
The scent of rain before it fell
Your step when you’d come through the door
The sound of your laugh, sharp and bright
The art of being a dog is knowing love
And knowing that’s enough
To live each day with boundless joy
And to leave this world with a gentle heart
Maybe we were made unable to speak
To prove that love is shown through actions and not words
It’s knowing the world by the wind in your fur
The sun warming your back
The way grass feels beneath your feet
The taste of the air after rain
Now I notice things a bit slower
The way I have to ease myself up
The way my legs feel heavy with each step
I notice the sigh in your voice
When you say, "Easy now, old friend."
I used to run beside you
But these days, I watch you walk ahead
And I follow, one careful step at a time
The world feels softer now, like a fading dream
The scents I loved, the breeze I chased
All slipping into something I can’t quite catch
You think I don’t see it
The worry tucked into your smile
The way you kneel to touch my head
Your fingers trembling, brushing my face
As if trying to memorize every line, every spot of gray
I notice how you linger longer now
Sitting with me on quiet afternoons
Not minding the stillness as we rest side by side
I lean my head against you, close my eyes, and listen to the steady beat of your heart
I’m tired, and I know you see it
The weight in my bones, the slowing of my breath
I notice how you hold me closer each night
How you whisper, “Good boy, stay with me a while”
And I try, I try to hold on for you
To keep my eyes open just a little longer
One day, you’ll walk this path without me
But please know I’ll still be there
In the rustle of the trees, in the soft morning light
In every place we once explored together
I’ll always be here
Noticing you
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Alina Svyrydenko is a freshman student at UAlbany. She’s an English major with a minor in Creative Writing. She loves writing poetry and is currently working on her own poetry book, and hopes to have a career in publishing some day.