The photo shows Lizzy as a yearling in the Grizzly Valley Yukon kennel.)
Lizzy is right here —
That is axiomatic —
Continuously not sporadically,
For just as long as I am here.
There are helpful material links:
Her purple collar, her twing.
Her Presence does not depend upon these,
They are merely aids — crutches — for me.
Lizzy undertook to remain at my side,
Forgoing the comforts of the Rainbow Bridge.
She made that promise to Tonya,
To stay and look after the Boss.
That she is no longer visually obvious
Is due to the failure of her physical body;
It was almost sixteen years old,
Worn out and sick with cancer.
I have photographs as aides-mémoire,
Reminders of her physical appearance,
But that was far from the full extent of Lizzy,
She was a lot more real than that.
Anytime I think about her she is here,
Immanently present, no longer body-dependent.
Those times when I do not think about her
She remains equally present.
The challenge, then, for me is to realise
As often and long as possible that she is here,
A task of recollection that may validly be called
The Practice of the Presence of Lizzy.
—oOo—