The Absence
There is an absence that is indefinable
as if the ghost dog who once roamed freely
throughout the house had suddenly departed
It was the cat who first noticed the absence
bringing it to my attention by way of behaviors
that were secondary to her nature
entering my dreams unconventionally
revealing other lives I once lived
In the morning I stand in the shower
warm water washing away dirt & blood &
anything strangely unsettled or emotionless
Going through the motions is an expression
best left for those who have given up
no longer searching & thereby incapable of
finding the smallest of things that had been lost
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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