Curled by the window, I smelled the tea Steeping in the mug by your side I stretched my legs and licked my lips Each day, until you died Our home became silent, bare and cold My food bowl remained without food Your hand did not reach to pet me any longer Despite my rubbing and mewing mood I left and it hurt but I walked on the streets Seeing things I never wanted to see I slept in the dumpsters and ate from the trash Realizing nothing you gave me was free “Tomcat,” they’d call me, the bakers and butchers, They’d throw me a bone or a sliver of meat I’d cry and I’d mew for my rumbling belly, My skinny tail, and my scratched feet Then you found me - curled in the rain - Smelling the coffee in the shop nearby, You picked me up and smiled And if I could, I would have cried Now I curl by the window again, Stretching for the touch of your hand, I’ve loved and I’ve learned and I’ve lost all the way, Each moment like a grain of fine sand I’m Tomcat no longer, but in some ways am, Along with everything else I used to be You found me lost, you made me whole That’s what makes me - me