Summer nineteen-sixty-six
veterinarian assistant
setting on the countertop
small box a lady brought
three tiny bodies inside
no hair, just skin
said she found them
on the lawn outside
she gave them to me
now a father with a family
come on, kids, let's go home
two died, one survived
as time went by
it turned out to be
a Western Gray,
Tree Squirrel
given name, Cicero
standing in my living room
large exceptional birdcage
Ciceros' private suite
free to come and go
thru the backyard window
before dark, he's back home
setting next to you chattering
telling you where he roamed
he wasn't a pet
he was one of our family
with attitude and personality
handing out smiles laffs
for many long years
our house was his home
then came the day
he went out to roam
never came back home
now mounted above
the backyard window
the words, Missing You
picture of Cicero
At times he was a handful. He would get angry when he came home and found that you had cleaned his cage and add new bedding.
About the Creator
A. Keith Clement
I write poetry and short stories it is a necessity for me. It keeps me happy.
Without knowing it until I was forty-seven, my life has been a work in progress that began in my youthful years as a child and has continued to this day.
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