Notes About The Poem
Elegy, a poem of mourning, or, a sad and thoughtful poem
about the death of an individual (but in this case, it is a cat.)
Grumpy was a stray cat that hung around our porch and I started to feed
him. Soon he was mine, He was of undetermined age, life had been hard
for this boy, he had nicks in his ears. I thought he was a black cat until
I washed him and a brown tabby was revealed. He was my best friend.
When he died, I was shattered, weeping for weeks . . . of course I have
had many cats since, but that Grumpy dwells in a special place in my
heart, perhaps because he was broken and so was I.
I wrote this poem and keep it in a memory album of him with pictures,
and today I searched for it, so I could post it to this contest, and the
memories came flooding back.
I have edited the poem, as it was just one page written by the child
who was me . . .
In Memory of Grumpy Cat
It is so hard to say goodbye. The end has come.
I knew it would . . . someday. Such a good cat;
for twelve long years, my Grumpy, always there for me,
wanting a pat, a lap, a snack to make you fat.
I recall our first meeting on a freezing winter day,
cold, unfriendly eyes of a stray, rejected by the world;
alone and afraid, hissing. Slowly a trusting friendship,
and eventually in my arms you were curled.
How can I endure this cruel world without my friend?
But of course, I must go on . . . I imagine you;
in a beautiful garden, lush and green. Sunshine streaming,
bird songs filling the air, and a sky azure blue.
You are busy grooming your shiny brown tabby fur,
amber eyes twinkle, a little pink tongue busy curling;
a paw, a face . . . something catches your attention;
you jump up to swat a passing butterfly whirling.
Rolling in the cool grass, you curl up for a nap,
with a sigh . . . and death came to you like a thief;
till I draw my last breath, I will hold you in my heart,
the price I pay for loving you so much, is grief.
But, I would not change one moment of our time together,
you were a gift from God, to last me all my lifetime;
never to be repeated . . . as you drew your last breath,
I whispered in your ear, till to heaven I climb,
and I placed you in God's loving arms in the meantime . . .
__________________________
Written at sixteen years old
Posted, April 27, 2017
Elegy/In Memory Of Grumpy Cat
Copyright Protected, ID 895903
Juvenilia
Ceclia Hopkins-Drewer
__________________________
"All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small:
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all . . . ."
(Mrs. Cecil Frances Humpreys Alexander, 1848)
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