If I could still run to you

 If I could still run to you, I would.

If I could still press my paw into your hand,
I’d never let go.

But love found another way.

Now, it travels in light.
In dreams.
In the way your heart suddenly feels full
for no reason at all.

That’s me.
Sending little reminders
from Heaven’s meadow.

When you hear a soft jingle and no collar’s near —
that’s me.
When a breeze brushes your face just right —
that’s my fur against your cheek.
And when your heart aches and then softens —
that’s me whispering, “It’s okay, I’m home.”

You see, love doesn’t end when the paws stop walking.
It finds new paths —
from stars, to air, to memory.

I still walk beside you,
just lighter now.
I still love you,
just freer now.

So when you close your eyes tonight,
feel for me there.
Not in the ground, but in your heartbeat —
the place where I’ve lived all along.

From my paws to your heart —
always,
forever,
love.