Remembering Small Times

Some days I recall
sweet and fierce small times,
grounded in the ordinary:

the dog, not bought for me,
but mine, nonetheless;
ninety pounds of blackness
standing by my side,
shoulders and legs stiffly erect,
resonant rumble in his throat
when strangers came to the door;

a downy white cat, not mine either,
who sat at my feet
in companionable silence
while I worked
at the timeworn desk;
I buried him wrapped in
my pink baby blanket.

Patricia Williams retired from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point after 27 years of teaching design and culture. She writes in a variety of genre and has had work published in both online and print journals in the U.S. and England. She lives in the countryside with her husband and is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.