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.
August hangs heavy in the air uncomfortably cloaking all who venture outside August forced open its eyes later this morning than yesterday labored breathing hissing over soon ssooooon (I found a cicada lying silent in the street on my morning walk today) What happened to May’s sweet promise the glittering dance of June July’s sultry…
Cats? No more. more cats? No no more cats! Please. Traded: one good airplane for tiny flea and pneumonia ridden kitten it must have been the heat – and humidity of late July Maisie the dog licks, cajoles, barks plays the daily game of chase while we sit and watch Doomed by birth into an…
The day’s hot breath lingered forcing fireflies out of the grass. Soundlessly they rose – rising blink-ing rising – pausing in the trees, slowly charting their way ever upward. Occasionally we’d catch one in an old jar, while grownups sat in lawn chairs and chatted. Mostly we just ran around small, thin arms o u…
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…
Before I walked inside it looked ordered, pleasant I might make a difference, if small They knew I could never stay no matter how bright, sunny, nice, agreeable (unlike the cottages tidy and white on the outside – inside, dark and sad) In the cottages small hands still waited to be held little voices to…
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