ON GRIEF FOR A CAT NAMED GEORGE
ON GRIEF FOR A CAT NAMED GEORGE With every rustle in the kitchen I search the floor for your arrival The plates and bowls clatter And the cupboard door groans and squeaks But you’re not there I cannot hear your voice I cannot see your image Even though I call your name Even though I mistakenly call your brother by your name And quickly correct myself Even though your name drifts through my mind And I say nothing Still the memory of your image floats across my eyes If I close my eyes I can see you And if I listen carefully I hear your voice Clearly. Loudly. But you are not here Later I feel you jump up on the bed I hear you scratch on the door And then I call your name for no reason So I fill the bowl full of food for two cats But there’s only your brother to eat for both of you You are not hear You are only in my heart And in my mind Later We eat our meal in peace No one tries pull our sausages off our plate No one tries to grab the fork as it leaves the plate We eat our meal in peac