Remembering Rinnie (Sep 4, 1996).

Rinnie, one of my two cats, ran away this Fall and never returned. I'm thinking I'll turn this into a little memorial about my memories of her. If nothing else, as the winter snow is piling up, I'm thinking about her a lot and this will give me a place to express that. It took two years to finish this but I finally called it complete on 11/5/98.


Rinnie

the Ghost of my slumber prowls
starting or crouching with each sound
momentarily escaping the sanctuary of the shadows
    under the bed
    behind the couch
    inside the closet
        living with the dust balls, paperclips and lost change.

the secret silver treasure lies unseen
curious searches only see proud gleaming eyes
each noise heralds the unknown illusion 
    creaking of the boards
    crackling of the fire
    clicking of the keyboard
        living with the fear of thunder, shadows and a world so strange.

the bravery that comes with fright
charging forward into the unknown in panicked retreat
mysteries reappearing with each sunset
    is that chair new?
    when did that table appear?
    was that plant always so big?
        living with a world of ghosts, phantoms and danger 

released from the nest you didn't want to leave
slipping through the insecure window boundary
exploring the dangerous unimagined and the unseen frontiers
    whir of wing
    flash of tooth
    crack of frost
        no longer living with the fear, the awe or the shame.


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Alan Fleming [email protected]