I watched her smallest girl
Totter off to the first day of school
Propped between two older sisters,
Surprisingly protective.
I watched the woman
Watch them also
With her suddenly empty arms
Wrapped across her middle ,
Wrapped tight though the day was warm.
Even when the children had turned the corner,
Her eyes clung to that distance that they had filled.
And she lowered herself to the porch step.
The cat itself detached itself gradually
From the dappled space next to the porch.
He moved toward the woman and sat,
Slid toward her and sat,
Until her was at her feet, watching her watchfulness.
Then he took over her lap
In a breath of movement.
Forcing her arms to peel away from herself
And encircle him.
They commiserated
I think she cried
As her fingers toyed at a snag in the soft, gray fur.
But the message was clear
In the upturned, unblinking wise face of the cat.
That no nest should ever be empty.
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