‘A puppy!’ Early one morning he arrived; Buddy.

Buddy

‘I shall call him Buddy’, he announced, tears of joy in his young eyes.

Eyes

‘Look at his (doe) eyes’, began, their learning together.

Together

‘Buddy we shall discover the world, together’; yet, it wasn’t to last forever.

Forever

‘It was meant to be forever’, tears welled in his eyes; this young primary school boy.

Boy

‘It’s tough Grandad, losing ya best mate; too soon.’

Too soon

“Perhaps; better, than to have never known at all.” Stoic the pause, before the start … lost tears

… lost tears.

BenT ©2026

The Skeptic’s Kaddish:
W3 Prompt #201:

This week, let’s play with rhyme and repetition by writing an echo poem about firsts.

1. Write an echo poem about a first — first love, first heartbreak, first bike ride, first apartment, first snowfall, first pet, first anything that mattered.

2. Show us how you felt — excited, embarrassed, afraid, proud, uncertain.

3. Include at least one variation of one of these words:
• Early (earlier, earliest)
• Begin (beginning, began, begun, begins)
• Primary (primarily, primaries)
• Start (start, started, starting, starts)

Let the repetition do some of the emotional work; and have fun with the echo!