The last goodbyes

As you hold them in your arms

And say your last good-byes

Look close into the fading light

that flickers in their eyes

 

They are not afraid

because they know when a sparrow falls

she falls into the hands of God

all creatures great and small

 

They don't live as long as humans do

this too is a part of God's plan

for animals are God's angels

to be there for you when he can't

 

God's gift is that you can love many

when your pet has time for only one

you can give love and happiness to the strays ...

who without you would have none.

 

So lay your friends to rest, lift up your hearts

dry your tears, for it is told

death is but a passage into the hands of God,

through the gates of gold

 

Somewhere others need you

in shelters, or wandering the streets

they want nothing more from life

than to lay down at your feet

 

It is time to give another life

the love only you can give

we are the caretakers of God creatures

for not to love ... is not to live

 

(Brenda Riley-Seymore)