How
shall
we celebrate?
with eggnog. tree.
(doubt there’ll be snow)
family, friends.
cookies. candles.
stack lots of firewood.
(oh no. cutter packed)
Beth – gingerbread men duty.
festival of nine lessons and carols.
advent calendar. packed.
(will anyone notice)
order turkey (vegetarian too)
somehow it falls into place.
I’m so glad you Always
put fruit and nuts in the stockings.
And cats, NO getting up early this year!
No feral cats roam the island sit on windowsills sleep on forgotten front porches Trimmings that made houses homes days holidays seasons special. Gone. war came. duty called. Then the world changed. Snug in St. Maggie’s Dale cats hiss and scamper sneak around corners bivouac under a chair Jimmy the dog has come to stay…
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…
You are too gracious and elegant to ask I know that but simply put, we are dog people for forty years and more yes, yes there was the occasional unwilling kitten dragged home That night – you were the slimmest of shadows weaving among us in the mist neighbors banded together at nightfall laughing with…
At the café overlooking the valley (and the next perched village) locals sit and drink – ask a stranger among them, ‘Why are you here? No one comes to this place even if they know it exists – why are you here?’ Navigating narrow passages (cobbles uneven under foot and slippery when wet) steadied by…
We lay there – I, draped along the sofa while she curls herself inside the bend of my legs They, by contrast, stand sentry seated side by side in the large chair near the fireplace poised. ready Over and over we replay this scene – Coco and me, Annie and my husband They inevitably glance…
We never wanted two cats and a dog the white picket fence and the station wagon The world waited just over the horizon Odd isn’t it how our fondest memories are of kids and dogs two old cats rule we no longer need yet have two station wagons all a part of creating a place…