The day we released my sweet Claire Was the day my world shattered We released one hundred and thirty four balloons into the sky One for each day of her precious life, And as they lowered her tiny casket into the ground I couldn’t even see it because of all the tears in my eyes I slept at the gravesite that night And stumbled home the next morning, A mess of grass stains and mud I threw myself on my bed and stared into her empty crib As if hoping she would somehow reappear My husband brought soup and warm tea That grew cold and untouched on the nightstand Days went by and it seemed the world only grew more dim without Claire’s light I would spend all day pouring over her pictures Remember what it was like to hold her tiny hand Or the way she would glow when she smiled And how I told her I would never let anything bad happen to her But failed One morning, when the darkness was eating me particularly badly I contemplated walking down to the train tracks And just sitting there, hoping something would happen I opened the front door of the house, ready to take that step When I heard a soft purr beneath my feet A kitten with velvet gray fur No collar, no home; rubbing against my leg My heart swelled with sympathy for the poor thing So I lifted her up into my arms She had the most daring button nose, Pink ears that twitched in the wind And the same dark, glowing eyes as my sweet Claire.