For Chloe

We’ve all been there

In that quiet place

When a friend takes their last breath

When the storm of illness and pain

Is over

And though our hearts break

We could not bear to see the suffering

Even one more hour

So passed our little friend Chloe

Thirteen years on

Thin, listless, curled into herself

A mere shadow of what she once was

Once her black coat shone like obsidian

And felt like silk

Once she greeted us at the door

Begged food from our plates

Brought warmth to our hearts and laps

Once she nuzzled and licked my gray goatee

And played chase-the-string with abandon

And slept under the covers if we let her

It broke our hearts to let her go yesterday

But we knew her time on earth was over

And when we brought her tired body home from the vet

We wrapped her in an old pillowcase

And found a place in the garden to lay her

Deep and undisturbed

And just a few feet over lies Hobbes who was 18

And down in the terrace is Pippin who left us at only 3

Even as I write this, my heart is aching,

My eyes are burning.

And for the first time in over 16 years,

I am without a cat

We are without a cat

 

Can anyone tell me something that will stop the hurt?