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.