In Memory of......

By Henri of Twin Brook

Each morning, I skim through the kitchen door and climb the white fence which borders the garden. I walk through the thick tangle of herbs, pressing the stalks into the ground with my feet. I come to the small, round plot of space where she lies beneath the surface. I stand there and meow softly to her. It was she who taught me to be a proper housecat, to eat my breakfast without spilling it from the bowl onto the newly washed floor. It was she who taught me to accept the caresses from my persons without flinching and drawing back from their outstretched hands.... It was she who taught me to accept their love and kindness and then to return the same to them.

I listen to the birds chirping in the trees. I hear the squirrels chattering as they chase each other through the branches, gleeful and carefree. I stretch out my paw and touch the soil which covers her grave. I leave a trail of claw marks in the brown earth which blankets her small, grey form. Her eyes are forever closed in an endless nap of peace. I meow softly, wishing she could hear my sadness....The birds twitter about me in the trees. The squirrels chatter among the branches. I listen, knowing that she can hear none of this. Or perhaps, she hears it all.....I miss you, dear cat.....