The sound familiar
as it echoes through
the house.
The couch sighs
the way it did when
she jumped off
to chase a squirrel
in the yard
or follow me
when I walked away.
The memory recovered
the way she retrieved sticks
on autumn days.
Her wet nose,
red collar,
unbridled joy,
shaking the rain
as she swayed.
She faintly smelled like trees,
she wagged her tail
while words of poetry
danced on the page.
Outside the window,
leaves are scattered,
the homeless cat can
no longer tell her tales
of the birds she hunts
and duck eggs left unattended
for moments at a time.
She daydreamed,
we daydreamed,
side by side.
