The Inevitable Heartbreak

(in this poem, there are no
fancy tricks)

It may be silly,
I know that much,
but I love my cat.

(it may not follow line length
conformity)

My cat is black with
a white stomach
and white paws. The front
paws are like little tennis shoes.
His hind feet are like white high tops.
Because of this, his name is Nike.

(it may not follow syllable
rules)

His eyes are golden, with specks
of brown and green.
He has a cute pink nose.
There is a white stripe
up his face.

(this might be tedious
And devoid of a point)

He was dropped off
in front of our house.
He was too cute to turn away
so he became part of the family.

(there is no rhyming, and
no conceit)

He is an outdoor cat
at heart.
He loves to hunt and bring
home mice as presents for us.
Woodchucks, rabbits, moles,
and birds were also in his
repertoire.

(long this is
to a reader)

When we moved, Nike
gave up the outdoors
for a quiet life in the house.
He never forget outdoors,
And we still take him out
On walks.

(it does not use assonance,
or alliteration)

He is a rollie
pollie. This creates many
nicknames for him. He
is fat cat, the fat one,
mofassa, and fat stuff.
I call him any little doting name
I can think of.

(it does not have any
onomatopoeia)

His fur is soft to the touch.
He is the friendliest cat ever.
He likes to cuddle, especially when
I am crying.

(but this is a poem: here is
why)

Nike died on August 2nd 2007
The last two days I spent with him
were the worst two days of
my life. And even though he is
just a cat, he was my cat for over
seventeen years.
- Cheryl Abbott Fall 2007

I wrote this poem as part of my poem selection for my Creative Writing class. It was the fall semester after my dear Nike died and I was still mourning. It was hard those last couple months of his life. He would eat significantly less than before. Getting up and down from beds and couches was difficult because his eyesight had deteriorated. But we as a family did all we could to ease his life, and when the time can he passed while I was stroking his fur. Even now, after almost five years have gone by, I cannot help but cry.

So why am I thinking about a time which was so heartbreaking? Because Nike was not our only pet growing up. We also have a dear dog Spike. He is an adorable beagle fox terrier mix who is now seventeen years old. Over this past year he has slowed down, and arthritis freezes up his back legs from time to time. His eyesight is not what it used to be. He spends most of his day sleeping on his cushion in the kitchen, because the space is big and wide with less items to maneuver around. We take him outside whenever we hear the click of his nails on the floor because that is the only time he really walks around.

Heartbreak is right around the corner and there is nothing I can do about it. It is not like a relationship I can try to mend or part on mutual terms to soften the blow. It is not like a sore muscle that is soothed by heat and a nice dip in Epsom salt. It is nothing like the gradually loss of friends who were once close. This is not irreversible. The inevitable is going to happen, our dear Spike is going to pass, and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. There is no way to cure his aging body. He will pass away, just as Nike, just as we all do. My only wish is that Spike can have the same comfort Nike did; I hope one of us are by his side so he knows he is loved to the end. That is all I can pray for. That is all I can ask God to grant my family and me. It is one small comfort that could be gleamed from such a dark time that I know will come.