Tree roots have pushed the driveway asphalt up
and a little pool forms there after rain.
Our dog Jamie, sick with cancer,
was obsessed with drinking water from that pool.
Her dry nose would nudge me awake
in the small hours, and out we’d go.

She’d drink her fill, then just stand and look out into the dark.
Something about the illness made her shiver uncontrollably,
but it didn’t seem to bother her, so we’d stay.
That winter the little pool would often freeze,
and I’d get hot water to melt the ice so she could drink.
Too cold, I’d nudge her, and we’d head inside to bed.

One day she’d had enough, stopped eating, stuck her head
into the dark under the piano bench, and stayed.
We called the vet then to come with her syringe.
Eight years later I don’t park over that little pool,
still remember those nights we had together
just standing in the dark, shivering, resisting going in,
looking forward to sleep.