Morna 
the calico who came to us at four weeks old 
and immediately took charge 
as if born to the throne 
though fitting into a teacup 

Augie Doggie 
the torn up feral stray 
who took two years to tame 
and I have the scars to prove it 
already dying of feline AIDS 
but love and drugs kept him in this world 
for another sweet decade 

Grimly Fiendish 
the impossibly beautiful snowshoe Siamese so named 
because that song by the Damned was playing 
in the record store when I first laid eyes on her 
already afflicted with feline leukemia 
she too would spend many happy years 
perched on our shoulders 
peering at ceiling corners 
going on bug hunts 
as they say in the movie Aliens 

Special Ed 
the mangy miracle tabby 
aka Vito because he was more alive than ever 
after surviving distemper 
leaving him confused 
partially paralyzed and like so many 
people I know only able to turn left 

Frank 
the archetypal orange tom 
carrying a calm within him 
like a blanket of blossoms 
settling in slow motion amid the nonstop madness 
that was our family 
he could sleep peacefully through anything 
and in our house he had to 
I wonder if the sun 
misses him as much as we do 

I miss them all 
I remember them all as best I can 
I can see their faces 
though some of their names escape me now 
and that is when death becomes real 
when it steals pieces of our memory 
and holes open up in us 
big enough to swallow the ones we love 
our true family of whatever species 

Bio: Kurt Luchs