You kindly offered to lend us Kiwi,
But only for awhile,
You said to love her every day,
And You would make her smile.

We answered ‘Yes’ and loved her so,
And ran along the beach,
We never left her all alone,
We kept her close, in reach.

We gave our Kiwi all our love,
No effort was too great,
We understood the time would pass
And did not spare a treat.

We knew that we would mourn for her.
Someday, we’d see her sleep.
But You had always cared for us,
It couldn’t hurt this deep?

You said that Kiwi would someday,
Return to be with You,
But never thought the time would come,
So quickly, so sudden, so soon.

Much earlier than we ever planned,
You came to take her home,
We loved her so, and You understand,
The bitter grief that comes.

We told you, Lord, and often said,
“Not ours, Thy will be done”
But when You took her, we then learned,
The risk of grief we had run.

But thank you for the time we had,
With our darling little love.
We’ll dry our tears and won’t be sad,
For now she’s safe above.

— Sam from Rancho Santa Fe, CA