Onto day 5 of Paul Brookes’ challenge inspired by the artwork of Jane Cornwell.

The death of dogs

Do the gulls come to guide them,
dead dogs, at the end
or the stars, that last night
of placid warmth and full stomach
to run on young paws again
the stiff joints fluid with joy?

Orion’s hounds wander their own trail
so why should you not claim the sky,
the soft twilight melting into dark,
the peace and silence
of those star-studded fields?