Ramona spent the weekend racing around
The agility arena with her latest training partner,
Sewing personalized dog coats for friends,
Feeding a platoon of poodles
And a concert of birds,
Laughing,
Doing,
Playing.
Ramona didn’t dwell on the degeneration
That made most days painful;
She didn’t focus on the losses,
The quotidian agonies of aging.
When I posted a plaintive photo of my dog captioned,
“Play with me, Mom?”
Ramona asked, “So why aren’t you playing?”
Mere hours later, Ramona left the earth.
Her last words to me ring a challenge
Amid these pain-filled days. We have just one life to embrace
What brings us joy. Despite all the grief,
The sun still rises; there are things to do. Today, find time
to play.
.
.
.
Rest in Peace, Ramona Stirling
Shawn L. Bird 