Obituary of Max Scarpitti

It was silly, I thought, to say a dog could be your best friend.
They do not even talk.
How could you be friends with something that could not listen to your troubles,
Would never offer any advice or solace
Or well-timed jokes to ease the tension and the pain?
How could a dog be a friend, let alone a best friend?
It all seemed so foolish, such romanticized nonsense,
But I was lonely, and cold in the night,
And needed a reason to walk around the block every day.

It turns out I was right about some things.
You never offered me any advice, or tried to tell a joke.
But what a lie it would be to say you offered no solace,
No laughs in a moment of despair,
And to say you never listened would be the most egregious lie of all.

And so, it turns out that I was the fool who could not see
That if anything, man’s best friend was a grievous understatement indeed.