For the dVerse prompt—a quadrille using the word ghost.
I see you on the roof at night
when moonlight silvers smooth red tiles
and hear your cry, so distant now.
You sniff the rose we planted
on the place you lie.
Soon, I say, we will all be fallen petals.
Sleep, ghost cat.
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Jane Dougherty Writes 
Nice memorial to your cat. I liked the line “Soon, I say, we will all be fallen petals.”
Thanks Frank. I suppose we will all be the equivalent of fallen petals.
Yes we will all gp that way… great tribute to your lost cat.
Thanks Björn.
What a gorgeous photo, Jane, and a lovely ghost poem – right up my street. I have two real and several ghost cats of my own.
Thanks Kim. Branwell was a splendid cat. I don’t think they ever really go away.
No, they don’t.
Lovely poem, though it made me a bit sad. We’ve talked about our ghost cats before. 😦
It is sad to think of people (and cats) who have died, but if it wasn’t sad, it would mean we didn’t care about them, wouldn’t it?
Yes, exactly. Perhaps bittersweet is a better way to say it.
It reminds us we have a heart 🙂
Oh this one tugs directly at my heart! “Soon, I say, we will all be fallen petals. Sleep, ghost cat.” sigh.. beautiful!❤️
Thank you, Sanaa. Anyone who has had a cat will feel the same way, I’m sure 🙂
Lovely tribute to your lost cat!
Thank you, Bev 🙂
a ghost cat….I think the strangest thing about cats is that once yours is gone, you see him again and again because so many look so alike. Your cat here looks just like our Inkan who we had in the 1970s! Ghost cat 🙂
Did he say ‘Now!’ when you got the cat food out? If people can come back in a different incarnation, I imagine cats can come back too. And they would never tolerate coming back as anything but another cat.
Smiling I am 🙂
It was the only word he could say, but he said it often 🙂
I like the fallen petals…it is nice to think this is what we will be.
I certainly don’t want harps and praising Big Brother. But I do love roses 🙂
Could be the brother of our Zoe – what a tender, sweet tribute, very Japanese in its marking of the transience of all life.
Thank you 🙂 He used to sit like a sphinx with his paws stretched out in front of him. He was a sweet, gentle cat and he has left a hole.
They always do…
Wonderful tribute and particularly good last line
Thank you 🙂 I like to think Branwell is waiting beneath the roses for us to join him.
I have several ghost cats, one rather recent. I like your thought in this and the memorial to your friend. I do like the thought that we will all be fallen petals someday.
Thank you. It’s more appealing than dust to dust.
Another cat! I think cats must appeal to poets. Maybe poets appeal to cats? It’s a lovely reminder of the transience of life.
They don’t live long enough and we live too long maybe. I know older people who’ve had animals all their lives, but won’t ‘get another cat/dog’ because they couldn’t bear yet another loss.
Such a sweet poem, and a wonderful photo. What a gorgeous (ghost) cat, and much beloved, it sounds like. The poem brought a tear to my eye for my own ghost cats. Fallen petals, indeed/
Light and delicate as all cats, even great clumsy lumps like Branwell 🙂
Such a sweet tribute toyour cat ~ Yes we will all be fallen petals someday ~
Thanks Grace 🙂
We have a 15 year Tom called Keezie Moto, and yes, his presence is so strong, he’ll never really leave us–ghost gato indeed.
Cats are so attached to place that I believe they stay there forever.
For me this captures how beings stay close in our lives even after they go…even sniffing the roses. (Beautiful photo)
Thanks Janice 🙂 The photo was taken by the youngest (fourteen).
Beautiful cat.
He was a very handsome boy.
Lovely tribute and delightful metaphor with the petals
Thank you, Paul.
This is so sweet. I love the picture, too. It reminds me of our old cat Tom who has passed on as well, though “angel” is not a word I would ever have used to describe him.
Poor Branwell was only a young cat when he died. Caught cat aids and had to be put to sleep. It was heart-rending watching him fade away.
I’m sorry to hear that. Our Tom lived to be 9 (which is still not old for a cat) until he had a blood clot to the lungs. He went suddenly and quickly.
At least he went quickly. It’s hard losing a friend after nine years.
This brought back a memory of my first cat visiting me after she passed. I actually felt her footsteps on my blanket which woke me up in a startle. It felt so real. 🙂
I had the same sensation with our first cat. We’ve moved three times since he died, but I still sometimes feel him curled up at the bottom of the bed. He was the only one ever allowed to do that.
Interesting to know that other people have had similar experiences. In the moment, I wondered if I was dreaming it.
We used to see one of the other cats jumping up at the window. Never heard him, just saw the rapid movement. I don’t know if it’s a residual memory or if there really is something that we give form to. What’s certain is that they leave their mark.
Yes, they leave their footprints on our hearts. 🙂
Aww…we miss our pets so much. I love the ending, the injunction to sleep well.
That’s usually something most cats do well 🙂
my house has a lot of ghosts like my greatgrandpa
I hope your great-grandpa was a sympathetic character. Otherwise life must be difficult.
Beautiful. ❤
Thank you 🙂