When my first cat died
I cried as if my heart would break
mourning
though they did not find her
until the next day
My small, thin body lay
arms pulled close
trying in vain to hold me together
I can touch the pain as if it were
yesterday
We played
and rode bikes
sneaked upstairs together each night
How lucky I was
that she filled my heart so
completely
one summer very long ago.
After reaching the waterfront she settled on the old concrete bulkhead next door I at the end of the dock Maisie rested against my hip as Fox and I regarded each other from a suitable distance A few water birds passed lazily overhead but did not disturb And so we sat ignoring, and wondering about…
& then it was Christmas Day! sleep – silent snow blankets the earth with only an occasional whisper the world is at peace. even the cats sleep on…
Playfully she folded her hands around his proposing marriage (though he was almost a generation removed) then just as quickly distanced herself from the thought tossing a little laugh over her shoulder This wisp of a child turned her back early on convention – instead held court with small wooden hearts special stones, crystal rocks…
Door closed Maisie bounded from behind the sofa fresh with the scent of winter we measure the days and hours in Maisie time Locked in the moment he shrugged off a scraped and bloodied face – oblique commentary on a parallel universe Mud and grass stains are part of the game – then bundled to…
Something skitters across the room – cats not far behind another bird has been plundered from the garland that winds its way up the stairs why are these cats so sure that the season’s decorations are strictly for their amusement? we have given up believing they will ever stay out of the tree perhaps our…
Strive to live each day in little moments Noting the joy of each and let them become as small steps leading you through the darkness If you can capture one another will surely follow Sometimes we have to tell ourselves to breathe until the normal rhythms of life take over again