Saying Goodbye to Skippy

1995 - 2012
With your voluptuous shape and proudly swaying cat belly,Those lake-green eyes and that pretty terracotta nose,Your Cleopatra eye makeup and single orange toe; We joked you were The Chosen One--
Always game for a rumble, a wrestle, a snuggle, a chase,Addicted to warm, sunny spots and sardines,You harassed us with your obnoxious-but-winsome meow--You weren't one to be ignored.
With your I-own-this-place saunter And your refusal to move over, scramble away, or hide out,You endured Ollie's advances with stubbornnessAs though saying, "I was here first."
How can you--with your gladiator spirit--be gone?It's so hard to accept it, Skippy. But it's true. 
Mike found you the morning after your escape,In the ivy-tangled fringe of our garden. We cried--And braced ourselves for the awful task of telling the boys:"We found Skippy. It's not good news."
We wrapped you in Mike's favorite T-shirt, And each of us held you in turn.We buried you, And now you are chasing butterflies with Jenga.

We all helped paint the stone we placed over Skippy's grave.

We can see Skippy's grave from our kitchen window.