Howling At Night

We told you to go to bed. You decided to howl instead. In those days, we covered our ears. But now we hide our tears. Yes, you would howl. Yes, you would growl. But then you would purr. As we pet your fur. The howling would end. We would pretend. That this would be forever. But now we have tremors. We hear the refrigerator. We hear the creaks a little later. On the first night we waited. Breath baited. But the howls never came. We felt shame. For falling asleep without you. You are at peace, that is true. We will remember your last howl. Before we wrapped you in a towel. Dreams of you and your sounds. But it was just the neighbor’s hounds. Sorry for scolding you. We know you were doing what you were born to do.