And you know I won't be well again
Promise you'll do what must be done
If this is the battle that can't be won.
It'll break your heart, but please be kind,
Don't let your grieving sway your mind.
For this is when you'll let me see
Just how much you do love me.
Together we've had happy years
The future now can hold no fears.
Please don't let me suffer so
When that day comes, please let me go.
For my usual vet please will you send?
But stay with me until the end.
Hold me steady, speak to me
Till my once bright eyes no longer see.
In time I hope you'll come to see
It's the last kindness you'll do for me
One more time please stroke my mane
And know that I'll have no more pain.
And don't be sad that it was you
Who decided this was what to do.
We've been such buddies through the years
Don't let me be the cause of tears.
You'll always see me graze now, with the sun upon my back
Painful limbs won't tire me now, however long the hack.
I live now in your heart and mind, a lovely place to stay.
And what you have in memories, no one can take away.
Shirley Cruickshank
