In memory of Zippy the cat

 

His frozen body and ceaseless stare,

Haunts me as he lay still under my chair,

In an eternal curl,

Black and like a ball,

Even this ‘puff’ of hair is summoned,

By that dark call,

 

To fade away they say,

And fade away some more,

Tis no great secret,

No great lore

That once ventured through that ancient archaic door,

I’ll never see him anymore,

 

And how I remember what I once saw,

His wiggly tail and frail little paw,

Purrs from under the shadows,

And Licks in the air,

Enjoying life beneath my still wooden chair,

 

Up in the morning,

And up on my bed,

His wet nose and loud purr

And an urge to be fed,

 

Then rushed into the garden

And down the cobbled path,

Tail waving around,

While singing back a memory I laugh,

 

But then a puff!

And out he goes,

My mind shattered,

Yet refuses to believe the rising smoke,

Despite this world throwing me

This godforsaken joke

 

And how from my bedroom window top,

I used to see,

How gentle his soft steps made,

A laugh out of me,

Of the world and its way, and of the sun and moon,

How once he could sit there,

Morning to noon,

But now he’s gone away,

all too damn soon!

 

No longer fit for the garden green,

My room now set the final scene,

Under my chair curled and weak,

There and there about,

Frozen still,

There and there about,

No more.