How much of this hair is yours?
I wonder as I pull a longer strand away
from my sweater, a filament of orange
and white that could
only be yours.
How much is left?
I wonder as I roll the thing with
the sticky paper on it over my clothes
as I push the vacuum cleaner
one more time
over the carpet
We marveled at how much you shed
over 18 years, over how many kittens
worth of fluff we might comb
from your coat in one sitting
no matter how many times
clothes and bedclothes go through
the laundry, no matter how much
is swept up, mopped up,
put away
a piece of you will always
remain along a crack in the floorboards
woven snugly into the fabric of a shirt
someone wore while holding you close
while you purred
into our chests
touched your nose
to ours
so I like to think
even as we chase every last
strand of yours and the surviving
cats down with our sticky rolls
and vacuum cleaners
because we pride ourselves
on our place
not smelling
like pets
Someday it won’t even
smell like us but all the dead
cells we’ve shed everyday as dust
will have already settled
to mingle with yours
in the seams of the floorboards
under the molding
along the walls
breathing in and out
of the ductwork
and no matter how hard
the people after us
try to clean….
 |
| Otis T. Cat, 2001-2020 Forever in our hearts. |
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