Creatures of Habit
The doggy’s hips
Are hurting him
He gets up slowly
Tail wagging
Anticipating a walk
Not today sweetie pie
I kiss him on the head
The kitty has forgotten
Where her food bowl is
Her body recalling
An earlier time
And she sits there meowing
It took me a minute
To understand
We are aging together
But what the mind forgets
The body still recalls
Chaser will always yearn for
A brother by his side
He was imprinted that way
So I’ve become his brother
Maud is set in her ways
Once I stayed up 24 hours
Coaxing and reassuring her
After I switched the kitty door
To the other window
She cried all night–
I had to switch it back
And I sense my body memories
A body that was once one of many
With family dinners
And holiday celebrations
And I feel Chaser’s yearning
And like Maud
I can’t find the door home…
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barb j beyers 