Sarah and Harlequin

The story of a cat and the girl she helped rear

I came upon them in an unguarded moment,
When the purity of emotion is viewed.
They lay side by side facing each other.
This cat the colors from an artist palate
And her curly haired mistress.

They lay in perfect stillness
Surrounded by an unspoken love.
The girl tenderly stroking her cat.
The cat purring softly.

"She's dying, Momma."
I barely heard the words.
She looked so small,
Sounded so vulnerable.
What was I to say?

Now, she lay near the end of her life
I've never kept the truth from her
There would be no words to soothe the pain.
She was too old for fairy tales.
"Yes, honey, she is."

Gently stroking love,
Desperately trying to stroke healing.
"She just can't, Momma
Because I love her."
What was I to do?

Fifteen years together.
She deemed me incapable of rearing
And took that job from me.
So, their journey began,
Each devoted to the other.

How many secrets did she hold?
How many "great loves of my life"?
How many heartbreaks?
How many snuggles and purrs
That brought about healing?


I came upon them in a unguarded moment.
I bent down stroking love,
Gently stroking healing
My seventeen year old woman-child
As silently tears rolled down her face
As she watched her first best friend die.