(Photo of Rosie, Helen's much-loved current cat)
Helen Losse lives in Winston-Salem, where she is an editor for the online poetry 'zine The DEAD MULE (www. deadmule.com). The February issue is well worth visiting! Helen has published her poetry widely both in journals and in book form. The link to her website/blog follows her poem. For more about Helen and her work, please go to My Laureate's Lass0, http://ncpoetlaureate.blogspot.com/2009/04/better-with-friends-by-helen-losse.html.
What Others May Know, What We Knew
—for Chester
On the day we kissed Chettie goodbye,
we didn’t stay to watch him “go.”
We put “cat things” away
in the attic over the car port:
litter box, dishes, carrier, out of sight.
We threw away milk jug rings,
our boy cat’s pictures of Bill Elliot’s car.
We kept the yards of curling ribbon,
for we knew another day would come.
Others may know what I mean:
To celebrate memory, enlarge life,
enjoy fur touching the skin.
What Others May Know, What We Knew
—for Chester
On the day we kissed Chettie goodbye,
we didn’t stay to watch him “go.”
We put “cat things” away
in the attic over the car port:
litter box, dishes, carrier, out of sight.
We threw away milk jug rings,
our boy cat’s pictures of Bill Elliot’s car.
We kept the yards of curling ribbon,
for we knew another day would come.
Others may know what I mean:
To celebrate memory, enlarge life,
enjoy fur touching the skin.
Helen Losse
--for her response to my prompt, Helen will receive a copy of my Coming to Rest.
Helens website: Windows Toward the World-- http://helenl.wordpress.com/
Helens website: Windows Toward the World-- http://helenl.wordpress.com/
Her mail signature:
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
6 comments:
So lovely, Helen. Others do know...
The putting away of things that remind us of our friends...yes...the kick in the gut when you first see them there before you can put them away-in the moments after they have left us...
lovely
Thank you, Vicki and Kathryn.
And thank you KSB for publishing this poem. It was rejected several places. Maybe it's for a "special audience." Helen Losse
i did the same thing when my first cat passed away. he had been sick and i had to get rid of the little bed we had bought for him to keep him warm.
but love that you also looked to the future and the new cat is a cutie :)
I'LL NEVER FORGET MY FIRST PET. AFTER 15 YRS. THEY ARE SUCH A BIG
PART OF YOUR LIFE THAT IS ALL OF A SUDDEN G O N E. SO SAD:( MARILYN
Amen to this! The rituals and the things we do to get through the fallout of losing a pet, the things we pack away, the things we don't, all seem to be somewhat universal. There's a comfort in knowing that folks go through similar motions in their grief over losing pets. This is a lovely piece of writing and really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing!
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