A CAT'S LAST EMILY (Emily's last cat)
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Lifting her elbow up off of her cat
Emily whispered,
"Now, where is my hat?"
Barefoot she tiptoed embarrassed how late
she'd be for the Metro, then shrugged, "Such is fate."
Older is slower and patience is best
There's no sense in rushing, the long game is best
A gentleman's waiting is proof of desire
Winter is calling and passion is fire
Emily, wrapped in her ermine and pearls
long ago best of the Paris street girls,
Met her first sailor and right from the start
Lost both her innocence and most of her heart
Life, silly sad game of both give and take;
Losing a lover and lying awake
Cling to sad memories old songs tear apart
He's an old photo and love's an old art
Emily, slow now and barely alive,
reckons this winter is one to survive
Beauty's illusions work best in the dark
She's the magician to kindle that spark
Money is money and dreams are for fools
Actresses’ practices break all the rules
Pocket her money, take off her hat
A little of this (and a whole lot of that)
Snowfall comes early, the Metro is late
Shivering Emily is down by the gate
Reach for his photo and manage one tear
Darkness moves closer and closes the year.
Somewhere an ambulance wails in the dark
Neighbors awake at a dog's plaintive bark
None but the cat at the top of the stairs
Senses her passing much less even cares
Closing her eyes the last starlight fell
on Emily's story with no one to tell
Somewhere a sailor startles awake
Clasping his chest at a sudden heartbreak.
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EPILOGUE
(The landlord sits reading by her window at night
In her lap sit a book, a new cat block's her light
No longer lonely with this grateful Le Chat
A cat she names "Emily" ( Emily's last cat.)
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