We have been lead to believe

That normality is not what we should expect

That the purpose of the idea of average

Is to show

how much one needs

To stand above it.

You were spectacularly

normal.

And that did not

in any way

prevent you from being

special

to us.

Your exquisite emerald eyes

Like the verdes fields you roamed

In your sleep

Legs twitching

Little woofs erupting

As you chased imaginary bunnies.

You were my escape

From unwanted visitors

As I ran away telling Amma

‘Ruby’s feeling lonely’

And spent the next hour

Finding

where you enjoyed

being scratched the most.

You sneakily stole potatoes

And blatantly stole our hearts.

But now.

Home seems to have

More empty spaces than before.

Passwords are harder to type

Dog gifs leave

A sad taste in my mouth

Getting out of bed and

my foot not brushing against your fur

is disconcerting

Like not brushing my teeth

Something just doesn’t feel right.

Every time food falls down

There is no pattering

On stone cold floors

Cats and rubber balls

Are no longer fugitives

While I can no longer be rescued

From cockroaches and loneliness,

There’s no longer a need to tiptoe at night

In the fear of waking you up…

Scratches on doors

Follicles of hair on clothes

And supporting roles

In ten years

of childhood memories.

It’s strange when we don’t honour the living

But the dead are engraved in our poetry

I suppose

It’s because regret is stronger than love

Or maybe

They are two sides of a coin

Tossed only in death.

//