I hear paws clicking across the linoleum floor,
she continues to sweep crumbs from the table,
our son still thinks he has to put the gate up.
She swore she heard barking in the back yard
and yelled, Can
somebody please let him in?
Opening the door each afternoon, she expects
him there, waiting to welcome us home again.
Today I went down the Pet Food aisle, reached
for a bag of the healthy food, a habit for years
Even Cat knows he’s gone, he stares at the
corner where the little round bed used to be
He’s not stupid,
you say to us, but we all know
he’ll never care to learn how to respond to life’s
most important words- biscuit, bed, outside, food.
