Coats and my Cat

The closet is almost
empty
three hangers
three coats
one for the heavy rain
or snow
one for the bitterly cold
one for the spring
the red one evokes
memories of the
bloody drip from Rachel's
cancerous mouth
in her dying days
The purple one the sense of passion I
do have at times for my work
and also for the rage I feel
for what happened this term
the black is a comforting color
for me it is the sign of elegance
and contrasts against diamonds
and cold
star studded nights
and it will always remind me of
my trip to Chicago and
my four months stay
in an elegant section of town
and living at the Elms Hotel
and making a new friend named Barbara
who understood my pain over
learning that my
fifteen year old furry friend
is dying of cancer
and so the black coat
will symbolize her death
and I'll cherish the
white hairs on it
I couldn't take off with the
lint roller to look nice to go to work
because they will be hers
and just a little of what's left
behind
when she heads for kitty heaven
and I hang up the memories
of our last stay together in
a tiny apartment the size of
a closet
with coats of many colors
seasons
and reasons
for being alive
and not.

@Elvia R. Arriola (2000).