The Last Mile of the Way

Maxine my Tucedo Kitty

You were only given two years

Feline Lukemia was the diagnosis

You lived eight months longer

And brightened our lives

One day you disappeared and Inknew

I prayed and eight hours later

You appeared on the kitchen floor

The vet said your body

Was destroying your bed blood cells

Four of us who loved you gathered round

We told you how much you meant to us

There was nothing the vet could do

We watched the two injections

Saw your final breath

They placed you in a cardboard coffin

That said Maxine Preston

We brought you home one last time

The next day

You were placed in the trunk of the car

Driven off for your body

To be used for scientific resesrch

At Virginia Tech

I saluted as you went the last miles

Of your journey

The tears flowed

They still do