My Halloween Kitty

My Halloween Kitty (written 10/11/2020) free verse I had a familiar named Callie She was born on Halloween. Feral siblings abandoned at my door. I took the whole litter to the SPCA. They neutered and spayed them all for me. The ears were notched so they’d go free if the pound police appeared. I brought the clowder home and cared for them until their stitches had permanently healed, then allowed them outside to roam on their own. They all left for adventures beyond – with the exception of Callie. Callie was brindled in black and orange with a white-star chest and white-tipped tail; short hair she maintained fastidiously. She continually spoke to me in cat language and we managed a conversation of sorts. She bid me good day as I left in the mornings and listened to my tales when I returned. She monitored my feelings as if a therapist and counseled me on the course I must take when I was feeling at my lowest. I called her my Halloween kitty and she expressed that was okay. We counted years by her birthdays, celebrating Halloween every year. She disregarded the trick-or-treaters. My sounding board and steadfast friend; I miss her terribly now that she’s gone. She remained with me 17 years, two years passed, through sad, glad, distress, and happiness. She was my mainstay on my darkest days. I had a familiar named Callie She was born on Halloween.