The scent of you still lingers on your pillow.
(I cannot bear to wash the case.)

The dog still sits by the door before dinner time,
ears up, eyes sparkling, mouth agape,
listening for the jingle of car keys
to tell her you’re home.

And I still remember that evening
when we walked out to the far end of the pier
and watched the sun go down,
the sky grow dark,
and a galaxy of stars emerge so bright
they could have lit our path home
even without the firefly show that accompanied them.

Today’s 30 Days, 30 Poems writing challenge from Tweetspeak Poetry was to write a poem about loss, using natural imagery, possibly titling the work “Signs of … .”