Fire and Ice

his weather changed like mercury.
his clouds form and darken, then
sun breaks through.
the heat of his ore
the cold of his ice
smelted and sculpted
me down
until
a splinter
of myself
is left.

The Jake Update

My old man kitty Jake, (14+ years) fell off my fifth floor balcony last week. It is true that cats are not as sure-footed as most think. They can be downright clumsy. Yet, that is not the slant I want to take with this post.

From what I heard, the manager heard a loud thump. She went out to see what it was and found an injured cat. White with grey on his head. Not knowing what else to do she called animal control. When they arrived 45 minutes later and picked him up, his bowels emptied. (No shit!)

The opinion was he was going off to be put down. That is what I was told when calling after not being able to find him in my apartment. I thought he might have been lost in the building.

It was one of those rough nights of the soul with little sleep to escape with. Next morning with a call to the Humane Society, I found Jake was still alive and ready for pick-up. WOW!

He was in bad shape. Falling five flights is like being hit at 25 mph. His back legs swayed back and forth as he walked. He whimpered for two days. I got him to the vet on Friday and was told if he's not better by Monday I should put him down. He got pain meds.

A cat on pain meds is a sloppy thing. They become very wobbly and their eyes are drunken. On Sunday he was visibly better. He didn't need meds that day. He started eating again and talking to me. I sat with him and held him (when he was ready) for five days.

I remember the doctor telling me Jake has a bigger problem, which is probably why he fell.
But today he is much better. It's been eight days now. I am so reminded time heals all wounds. And yet it seems so long when one is entangled in the minutes.