poem from Honoring the Cats in My Life

Well, we had to leave Tucson.
There was no way around it.
But I wasn’t about to leave
with Sir Socks and Monsieur Spot.
How could I when I had promised
to take care of them both?
I know they expect me
to keep that promise.
So, it was decided they could too.

We had to take them to the vet–
Sir Socks doesn’t like the vet–
To make sure they were healthy
and it was okay for them to
get on board a plane.
Plus they needed rabies shots
and passports.
Neither liked the vet,
but Socks behaved much better.
Perhaps it’s because
he’s a classic cat and scared.
But Spot threw a fit
and bit the Vet Tech.

Afterwards, the boys spent
some time at Mary Jane’s.
After Mom and I finished
everything else we had to do,
we went and got them.
The boys and I hung out
in the car all night.
Some people saw us
and gave me weird looks.
I didn’t sleep
and Socks didn’t eat or drink
anything.
I don’t blame him.
Spot still ate some food.

In the middle of the night,
we heard some jet engines
fire up.
Yes, the hotel was
that close to the airport.
I told the cats
what the noise was
and they didn’t know
what to think.
At least they didn’t
have to be cooped up
in their carriers all night.

Early the next morning,
my mom, stepdad, and I
got everything together.
All the luggage had to be packed,
and stowed.
Even the cats had to go
back into their carriers.
They weren’t happy,
but I couldn’t blame them–
it was the most dramatical
move we even made.

Once we got to the airport,
I was able to get checked in
quickly, but the same wasn’t
true for my mom and stepdad.
The cats had to be checked in
with them, as I was going on separate flights.
Of course with airport security,
each cat had to come out of
his carrier to be inspected.
They weren’t pleased
and not too sure of what was going on.
Once that was done,
they were escorted to the cargo hold.
I told them bye and that I would see
them after the trip was over.

The cats, my mom, and stepdad
went through Dallas/Fort Worth
and then on to Fort Wayne.
I went through Chicago
before reaching Fort Wayne.
My original flights were much later,
but I managed to get into Fort Wayne
only an hour after the four of them.

During the flight,
I could hear Sir Socks screaming.
He didn’t understand and he was frightened.
I could hear Spot cursing
all of us.
He named me first.
Boy was he mad.

But when I saw them later,
they were fine.
Socks was hiding
and Spot was exploring
just like old times.
With those two,
you wouldn’t think
they had just traveled
as far as they had
in one day.