Kittens
She kept everything
a box of milk carton caps
partial sets of hair rollers
expired coupons under the placemat
that lay arched across the kitchen table.
She boiled canned asparagus
as a treat for holiday dinners
and cut bits from her hair
to save on salon appointments.
He had a workshop in the cellar
an armchair in the living room
and half a sofa in the sunroom
(the other a pile of crocheted pillows).
When he died
she disposed of his belongings
in uncharacteristic silence.
(Her son once called her "strident"
I asked him what that meant
and he said
loud
incessant
talking.)
I found beneath a table lamp
in the sunroom window
a pile of kittens
painstakingly cut from magazines to fit their contours
even the whiskers
edged with paper fluff.
He had always loved when I brought the dog for a visit.
She kept everything
a box of milk carton caps
partial sets of hair rollers
expired coupons under the placemat
that lay arched across the kitchen table.
She boiled canned asparagus
as a treat for holiday dinners
and cut bits from her hair
to save on salon appointments.
He had a workshop in the cellar
an armchair in the living room
and half a sofa in the sunroom
(the other a pile of crocheted pillows).
When he died
she disposed of his belongings
in uncharacteristic silence.
(Her son once called her "strident"
I asked him what that meant
and he said
loud
incessant
talking.)
I found beneath a table lamp
in the sunroom window
a pile of kittens
painstakingly cut from magazines to fit their contours
even the whiskers
edged with paper fluff.
He had always loved when I brought the dog for a visit.
