‘'lilly'' A Cat Accounted For Beyond God Poem by Bill Grace

The cat at the flower shop door
playing fast paw moves
(sort of a cat patty cake)
with my young daughter
captured our hearts
and with time
came to live with us.

The cat was loved
by all except the dog
and fellow inside cats.
Suffered with a certain dignity
her lack of peer comradery.

The accident
The pet emergency room
The long night and early morning
The Vet
The deep tears
The release to God.

This evening we do not have her,
a first miss in a decade;
- - - - - no more a constant presence on the back of the couch
- - - - - no more her voice that of neither dog bark or cat meow but some strange hybrid
- - - - - no more oil hair licked into a morning's shamanic frenzy
- - - - - no more trigger to a middle of the night dog bark
- - - - - no more irrepressible force for ever more cat food and treats.

The healing peace of evening comes.
There is a quiet ache.
Even the dog seems to know
even the dog
gives the outside cat a break.