‘'lilly'' 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 decade's first miss
- - - - - no more constant presence on the couch back
- - - - - her voice that of neither dog or cat but some strange hybrid
- - - - - oily hair licked into a morning's shamanic frenzy
- - - - - trigger to a middle of the night dog bark
- - - - - irrepressible force for 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.