by E D
You came to me on my ninth birthday in a box that said "apples"
you cried all night for your momma that first night
and my dad lay down on the floor to comfort you...
6 months old, and you're scaling the curtains,
to tiptoe like an acrobat across, to take a flying leap 10 feet above the floor
and into the hanging potted plant
swinging back and forth like a pirate on the high seas.
a year old, that Christmas you brought the tree down, climbing it
and playing with your little cousin, untill the weight of two kittens toppled it ,
ornaments and all...
Easter morning brings the sounds of you playing hockey up and down the hall
with jellybeans.
two years old and you sit patiently while me & my sisters dress you up
in doll clothes, strap you into a stroller and wheel you around--you put up
peeplessly with our childish torture, and earn your sainthood: you are the
Mother Teresa of cats.
three years old and you cross the mississippi for the first time
in your well-traveled life, New mexico to Georgia, yodeling all the way.
four years old and you catch a squirrel in you declawed little paws
bring it home to mom an me, proud as can be, into the house still alive, let it
go and it runs all over the house...
five years old and you are my best freind
you sleep in the crook of my arm, under the covers with me.
six years old and I find that when I take a bath you like
to sit on the ledge of the tub, and drink warm water from my hands.
seven years old and I feed you marshmallows when mom's not
looking...you're in my lap at all times. When my teenage days are hard, I can
bury my face in your fur and smell my favorite smell--you.
eight years old and during an argument with dad, you get so upset because
you know that I'm upset.
you climb onto my shoulders and head and bite my ears, to make me stop
crying.
nine years old and I go to college, you are alone at my parents' house, and
stay in my old room
most of the time, and your yowel becomes my name: aaaawwweeeen.
ten years old and I bust you out. you will live with me--where you belong,
because nobody loves you as much as me. I buy fish for you to watch while
I'm away at classes and work.
You become the judge of my college boyfreinds, you can sniff out a bad apple
a mile away, and select only the best laps to grace with your presence.
eleven years old and you're my study-buddy, on my lap as I
read my assignments.
twelve years old, and you comfort me, through nights spent crying
over many things. no matter how hard things are, you love me.
When the college stress gets tough, five minutes with you melts it away.
thirteen years old and you move with me, to my big job in the big city.
On my own and all alone, with my beautiful girl to come home to.
fourteen years old, in the apartment...I'll never forget the time
you tried to eat spaghetti while my back was turned, I looked to see--noodles
dangling from both sides of your mouth,
as you fought to grip the slippery things and run away.
fifteen years old and we move to a basement, you are up all night meowing
because you know the landlord's a shmuck.
You lose one of your top fangs, and you become my little "One-Fanged
Wonder"
You become Anthony's little pal, too--you knew a winner at first sight.
sixteen years old and you still chase my hand as I move it like a mouse
under a blanket for you...and when we move to the house with the sunroom,
you're the happiest gal alive.
seventeen years old and you cross the missisppi once again, Atlanta to L.A.
You love sitting by the open window in the apartment in L.A., in the sun,
sniffing the breezes...
eighteen years old and you're an east coast gal again...but you're sick...but
you're still
my beautiful girl, and I will do anything, anything for you. When you become
sicker, we begin to feed you anything you want--tuna, turkey, we cook you
little bits of meat & let you drink milk and lick sour cream, even anthony's
mom's pasticho... You become so weak that I carry you to the litter pan and
bring your food to you. We set up towels in the bed in the crook of my arm so
that you can still sleep with me.
And then it is time to say goodbye. It is the hardest day of my life. I love you
with all my heart, beautiful Patch. You pass away so peacefully, with your little
head in my hands. The last thing you see is me, and the last thing you hear is
my voice. There can never be another living thing as wonderful as you were,
and nothing can ever fill the emptiness in your place.
I was so blessed by you.