True friend, and faithful, through all that's been And much, indeed, has passed in the years you were with us. Seldom understanding, but not unaffected, still your affections were unwavering. True friend and faithful, from beginning to end.

Lord! How you would romp, and I with you as we tramped those green places of the world that beckoned us both. The hilltops and valleys, fields and woodlands, sun warmed wildflowered meadows buzzing with life on the wing, chill and dark-hearted hemlock forests stilled to silence in fresh fallen snow.

And the splashing! How you loved the splashing... The lure of the gurgling rocky stream, the invitation of the still blue lake None could be passed by! And how I marveled that you would partake of them all Even when the frigid winds of winter came whistling about us.

True friend and faithful - and patient! Patient with my progeny through the indignities they visited upon you Though the trial at times must have been sore Still, you forbore, and came finally to know them as your pack And through you, they came to know a larger world.

For so long it seemed we would always be together - roaming the green places roaming the wild woodlands roaming the meadow's edge or - treading the suburban concrete treading the sidewalks treading the byways of men In the light of the sun In the light of the moon Leaping for the flash of the butterfly's wing Or dream-twitching on the rug, by the light of the fire. Long time it seemed it would last, but time still passed - And suddenly it seems to have been all too short.

Only in memory, now, shall we tread those ways together. For you have gone on, while I remain behind as so often happens with our two kinds. You are gone - and yet you are here - Alive in my memory from beginning to end.

This last while was hard for you, I know When the vagaries of age put a stop to your running. Now Again You are free! And may your free spirit now range these hills and valleys, And splash in these streams and lakes, that ever you loved... Run with the wild breeze my friend Follow the scent in the green places And when I tread those places myself... I will know you are there - I will know.

Farewell my friend, True friend and faithful, - Until we meet again.

(copyright James Allen