An Elegy to My Cat

I heard a sad, desperate cry:

the sound of a final plea for life,

though I didn't know it at the time.

The cry startled me awake,

and I strained to listen for a minute

until I realized something was wrong.

I woke my husband and we got out of bed.

We rushed to the living room,

and there she was on the floor,

her wet body surrounded by a yellow pool

of her own urine, which her body released

when she gave her final breath. 

I stared at my loving pet,

her eyes like glass, the light extinguished,

no longer a mirror to her soul, 

just a reflection of my face,

shocked and afraid, with tears on my cheeks.

I stared at her open mouth,

her tongue touching the floor.

I looked away. My stomach hurt.

My husband wrapped her in a towel

and put her in a cardboard box

to keep her safe until morning.
The moon still shone in the dark sky,

but her death kept me awake.

Why did she have to die?

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For Day 18 of NaPoWriMo, I attempted to write an elegy for my cat Bean. She died years ago. At the time we didn't understand why she died. She seemed perfectly healthy. Now we suspect she died because she ate lilies. We didn't know that lilies were poisonous to cats. I miss her still.