(for Donna)

Not waiting exactly,
but keeping an eye out

for the glimmer, the wink
of light that says she’s

still here in spirit, one we
asked her for before she left.

Like two days after her
departure when I smoothed

a clean towel into the open
cat carrier, preparing to move

the big guy who adored
her, the one who, as she took

her final breaths, flipped
onto his back under her

hospital bed, balancing on
the keel of his flexible spine,

all four paws paused in air
like becalmed furry flags.

Maxi walked into the box that
would take him forever from

her home to mine, then turned
and calmly settled his big self.

They never do that,
we said, closing the door

and latching it. We blinked
and one of us said,

Thanks, Mom, as Maxi
mewed in what we hoped

was agreement.

•••

Top photo: Kat Fleming (thanks, Kat!)