THE CAT TEACHES ME ABOUT MORTALITY

We’ve been back and forth 
to the vet all month—
steroids, antibiotics,
bloodwork, x-rays.
I worry about his little body
and that I’ll fail him somehow,
everything an endless reminder
he will not live forever.

Do you know what he does?
He lays down next to me,
rests his head on my hand.
He purrs and curls in close.
I’m not sure if he thinks 
about mortality,
but he makes one thing clear—-
he will take comfort when he can. 

I scratch his chin and give him treats
He meows and coos,
brushes up against me. 
We are bonded for this time together.
Perhaps we always will be—
parent and pet, caretaker and cat—
time looping in on itself, a constant 
mix of love, memory. 

Isaiah Vianese (he/him) is author of the poetry collection, Men and Music (Coyote Creek Books 2016). His poems have appeared in Impossible Archetype, The Best of Mad Swirl, and Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing). You can read more of his at isaiahvianesepoet.com.