There is an awkward moment
When you are staying with friends
Near the end of your visit that
They begin discussing their
Schedule for the coming days,
Making plans without you.
But you are not ready to
Return to ordinary time, you have
Your own schedule to keep,
More steps along your journey.
And yet,
Too soon,
Life moves on,
Relentless.
Conversations at night
Quiet to a whisper,
A telltale in the trees,
An echo of the wind.
(Samarra)
As we transition
From four
To three,
From them
To her,
You transition
From a life of
Your own to
Someone else’s
Memory.
© 2023 Edward P. Morgan III
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ReplyDeleteNotes and asides:
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Samarra (Mara) was named after the city in Iraq, not the one in Russia (Samara). The name translates to “Conversations at Night”. The kind of poetry you only find in Arabic.
I started this the morning of the last full day she was alive, the day we made the call to have someone come out and help her across the bridge. I was thinking about a number of vacations we’ve been on where we stayed with friends and heard that conversation between our hosts on the last day of our visit. And there we were, making plans for after she was gone before she’d left as if she wasn’t there. Which is what happens with almost every known, impending death, feline or human.
If I could only count the number of lazy Sundays we spent on the bed reading and dozing with her and Nyala (four to three). Or the number of times I’ve asked Karen, “Have you fed them?” (now only her, Nyala).
Smoke and Bast will meet you at the Bifrost Bridge, my warrior queen, my friend. One day, I’ll follow. I hope I’ll see you on the other side.
Samarra Morgan
June 10, 2006 –
September 19, 2023
Picture Notes:
ReplyDeleteOur beautiful girl. The photography group I was a member of had a challenge to capture a portrait of a pet that someone would be proud to hang on their wall. I didn’t take this until the last day of the challenge. We were sitting on the porch and I had my camera out there. Mara was sitting between me and the porch flange on a sunny afternoon in May. I just grabbed the camera and took the shot. Minimal editing, a little darkening of the exposure, and some cropping. Then I sent the picture off.
A few days later they announced the winner, this picture. I won a white balance card, to use when taking other pictures. It’s the only time I entered a contest, and I won. Mara won. This is how I will remember her. Always.