SLEEP
She was the light of our lives
That cute, grey ball of fur tinged with pastel calico
I got her for the kids, and maybe for me too
She brought a different kind of joy, like a very special toy
For all those years we loved her so
Naturally, she was a part of “us”
Caught that one and only mouse, chased that string
And oh how she loved that matted grey little toy mouse thing
Only the best for her, quality food and constant changes of her water
And along the way a couple of friends, never any babies
Yeah, we had her spayed
Oh what a joy, hers was the first name we called when we entered the house
Our loyal little loved one, she even caught an evil spirit once
Seeing that which was beyond our eyes, but I knew
Cause I felt it too
So many years of joy…and work
You know those kids don’t want to clean that litter box
So I did it all
The running and jumping slowed, she was gettin’ older
Still goin’ strong even though she was drinkin’ all the water in sight
But what did we know, she was our first
This big ball of grey fur…everyone commented on how big she was
So when she slimmed down that was good, for she kept her youthful appearance
Yeah, she hid, but if you shook that container of catnip
She’d come a runnin’
We let her get her high on from time to time
I wonder if she got confused when the kids grew up and
My son left for school while my daughter was home
Or when my son was home and my daughter left for school
Someone was always there to love her
I left too, but she was still my heart
I loved the other two, but she was the first, the very special one
So when my son called and said she wasn’t eating her food
I knew I had to get her checked out
She looked tired from not eating and she moved rather slowly
But her eyes were alive
What we didn’t know was how sick she was
After all, she didn’t complain
So when the vet told us the facts
We knew it was time
We put our little grey ball of love to sleep.
Cheryl
If you like this poem, check out Cheryl’s book of poetry, “Not For Women Only” My Life in Poem by Cheryl Foster
Available on Amazon through my website www.4thdimensionpublishing.com
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