[The Futility of Lamentation]

[tomoffing]

Welcome half,
My thoughts are below. As this is "serious" I've listed everything that sprung to mind for your consideration. I'm in no way ripping it apart, merely suggesting.

This was a great read and an enjoyable critique.

First,
would you consider using a single dog as opposed to dogs? This would highlight the shared aloneness in my opinion.

[The Futility of Lamentation]

Due to the harsh weather, lose the, and the comma
I'm stuck at home this morning lose this morning
for longer than usual,

unbeknownst to the dogs,
who are locked up in the basement. Lose who are

Still, they whine and howl, why still? If your presence is unbeknownst what are you highlighting?
bemoaning their aloneness. They are not completely alone though, they have each other. A single dog would fix this also.
Would separation capture the enforced aloneness you're looking for? "bemoaning separation"

It strikes me that I'm no less naive.
to lament the absence
of those who never truly departed.

I don't like absence here, it has a temporary connotation. Perhaps reverse absence and departure, or leave would close with a subtle rhyme e.g.
It strikes I am no less naive
To lament the departure
Of those who never truly leave

I took some (most) crit and I left some crit from when I posted this in Novice. I very much appreciated all of it, but some of it altered the tone and meaning of the poem too much for my liking.

Here are my primary concerns:

I'm looking for a word other than aloneness that communicates the state of being alone but is also free of connotations. For example, "solitude" has the connotation that the aloneness is self-imposed and serene.

The final stanza is giving me headaches. I'm contemplating changing it to something like the following:

It strikes me that it's much the same
to mourn.

Or,

I think my mourning
is much the same.

Very brief and to the point, but it seems to lose depth. Gahh, I don't know.

Tear it apart!