The twinkling Dog Star
and its constellation
wags its tail
at the morning moon,
then in turn
tips its cap
to the sun,
rising without hesitation.

My dog is aging
and nearing the night
and it’s fitting she’ll rest
in these places of light.
She’ll find peace
and so will I
in this corner
of the velvet sky.

---

Jim Burns was born and raised in rural Indiana, and received degrees from Indiana State University and Indiana University. He then spent many years working primarily as a librarian in Iowa and Florida. Retirement granted him the gift of time, so he turned to his long-held love of writing, and in the past five years has placed pieces (all but two being poems) in over 30 online and/or print journals, magazines, blogs, and anthologies. He lives with his wife and dog in Jacksonville, Florida.