Edmund was just a cat.

Nine lives snuffed out – I’m sure of that.

Less sure am I of kitty’s fate

When she became inanimate.

Cold theologians will opine

About that feline friend of mine

That when my pal had purred her last

Her animal anima was gone and past.

No rational soul – no heaven to gain

But I was left to feel the pain

Of nine lives spent – untimely loss

Though all the time small critters cross

Beyond the veil of space and time

To live in human memories sublime.

Eternity a human soul’s domain,

No furry denizens in the Elysian plain.

No mangy dogs in heaven’s realms

Yet grief o’ertakes and overwhelms

When we grapple with mortality

And know we share one destiny

Though her soul dies and mine lives on

I know that there will come a dawn

When all creation wakes anew

All living critters – yes, cats, too

Will frollick as God intends once more

And this cat that once came through my door

May be given Life Number Ten

To curl up on a sunny couch with me again.

Although I often fail to be

A paragon of humanity

Edmund never failed to excel at

Being who God intended – just a cat.

She scratched, pooped, pissed, and hissed

But that darn cat is dearly missed.

Yeah… I miss her, even today.

But I’m glad her paws once trod my way.