This was a huge day for me – literally, the first dollar I ever earned from my writing. It was thrilling to hear my name called and walk onto the Villa Montalvo stage/podium to accept my prize – even better when the lady who read my poem sobbed. In retrospect, though, she was a pretty soft touch when it came to tears. Misty hasn’t stood the test of time quite as well as I might have hoped.
(In the interest of full disclosure, the beautiful white cat pictured is not Misty – there never was an actual Misty although Whitey and Calico were real cats (such clever names!) The picture is of the beautiful and much missed Skywhys.)
Sandra (Sandy) June 7, 2016 at 5:09 pm
The poem brought tears to my eyes as well. I’ve lost a kitten (Mai Tai) to the highway and finding a dead pet is awful. But, in the past few years, we had a cat (Dexter) who just disappeared with no knowledge as to what happened to him. In a strange way, finding a pet dead is at the very least a confirmation…but there is something about not knowing that makes me long for and look for Dexter every time I round the corner to our house. There was a poem by Rod McKuen in the ’60s about his cat that “disappeared” and I vaguely recall that he liked to think that a cowboy snatched her from the windowsill (my memory isn’t as good as it used to be). There’s the not knowing that keeps us searching. Thanks for sharing a beautiful poem.
skywhys June 7, 2016 at 11:13 pm
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and saying such sweet things. No wonder you’re my best friend! Your Dexter reminded me of my Deeter, the cat I had the strongest bond with – I adored him. He actually died in the car on the way to the emergency pet hospital (I was out of town; poor Sam was driving) but I still have dreams in which he’s merely missing and my hopes get raised and I’m about to find him again – when I wake up it takes a few minutes for reality to sink in and I realize, wait, it’s just a dream, he’s not really lost out there, he’s gone. And I agree, I do think it’s better that way, but I’m always going to miss Deeter.