We said goodbye to my cat, Cleo, last week. She was 17 1/2 years old – so it really felt like losing a big part of the family. She was like my daughter, my wife, my grandmother, and my angry next door neighbor all rolled into one.
At the End of her Ninth
The click of claws, wail
unmistakable,
proclivity for curiosity
unshakeable,
feline force of will
unbreakable…
mouths one last, silent
meow.
– © 2015, Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved
Please be sure to visit Tara Smith at A Teaching Life for today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup!
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Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 
Matt, I have a 17 1/2 year old cat named Cleo whose health I worry about on a daily basis! As my daughter would say, we’re “twinsies.” I’m sorry for your loss. It’s hard to part with someone who has been with you for so long. Lovely poem with great vocabulary (ten points for “proclivity” alone).
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Thank you, Tabatha. I liked the musicality of those rhyming words, and also felt they (along w/ proclivity) added something – subconsciously – to the sense of the intelligence of the cat. I hope you have many years with your own Queen Cleo!
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I know just how this feels, having had to say good-bye to a few of our aged furry family members fairly recently. It isn’t easy AT ALL! I hope you soon fill that void with another “meow”. It REALLY helps. They are never the same personality, but somehow it helps to have a “stand-in” who becomes your new buddy and helps take your mind off the loss.
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Thanks, Donna. We have two others – an 8-yr-old and a kitten – so the house is definitely not a void. Good thing, too! (And with 2 dogs and 2 kids as well, sometimes a void is rather appealing!)
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Ha! Yes, I guess you are still on the plus side there!
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Way to make me cry, Matt.
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Sorry, Diane! But thank you for stopping by.
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Aww. Rest in peace, Cleo, and thanks, Matt, for a fine poem.
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Thank you, Jane…glad you liked it.
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Sigh…the end of this so sad after such bounce. The form so well matches the reality of what happened. Rest well, sweet Cleo. Animals change us, don’t they? This poem, “Animals” by Miller Williams, touches me, and might be of interest to you now – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs6L_iCKvaM.
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Thank you, Amy. Her life was like the form, too…bouncing along, full of energy, then just slowed down so quickly and stopped. Thanks also for sharing that poem – I hadn’t read it before, but it is, indeed, very touching!
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Sorry about losing Cleo — what a good long life she had! I like “feline force of will/unbreakable,” and enjoy pondering the singular mystery and fascinating personalities of cats. I hope you write more about her in the future.
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I’m glad you liked it, Jama – I’ve always been a cat person, and probably always will be!
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So sorry that you said goodbye to your Cleo…love the way your poem shows her staying true to herself to the end.
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Thanks, Buffy. She was true to herself til the end, all right – as feisty as her muscles would allow her!
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Matt, I’m sorry you have had to say farewell to Cleo. I do know that emptiness. Currently, I am concerned for our Pearl, who even though her high blood pressure is controlled with meds, offers up throaty meows making us wonder if something else is awry. I like the rhyming adjectives that tie the poem together. Superb title, too!
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Thank you, Joyce! My wife, Jen, had a cat named pearl who passed away just about the time we were getting to know each other…I hope yours has many more lives left!
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That you wrote for her is such a blessing, Matt. I’ve said goodbye to many pets over the years, and never got used to the hole they left. I’m sorry for your goodbye, see that you will miss Cleo very much.
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Thanks, Linda, I appreciate that.
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Rest in peace, Cleo.
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Thank you, Mary Lee.
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Matt, so sorry about your loss. I’m not a cat person, but have said goodbye to many dogs. It really does leave a huge hole. Have you read THE MAINE COON’S HAIKU by Michael Rosen? It’s a CYBILS nominee and I’m recommending it to all my cat loving friends.
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Thanks, Carol…I am familiar with his book, and I have to tell you: the Siamese haiku is perfectly Cleo! Good to know it’s a CYBILS nominee – I miss the poetry category!
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Hello Matt,
I’m so sorry about your cat, a family member for so long. My thoughts are with you. Your poem is a beautiful tribute. Leslie Skimmings
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Thank you for your thoughts, Leslie. I’m glad you liked it.
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So sorry to read of your cat’s passing, from looking at her age she had a long life. Glad she spent it with your family and vice versa.
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