Down the Line

charcoal whiskers windmilling around the mouth,
his speckled freckles on martini glass nose,
his striped patterns of mackerel,
her fussy food bowl –
so it continues

his velcro affection, love of the limelight
and tiger-sized appetite with weight issues,
her obsessive cleaning especially the white wash
and magnificent tail,
their resolute claws and paws –
it continues

his debonair style and Latin lover eyes,
her yellow-eyed sass, high decibel purr
which demands attention
and crazy leaps from all heights,
their etchings, his gum-disease,
her interest in offspring, his far-
flung thirst for adventure –

traces of them in me
and me in them and so
it continues

though I’m not
nearly as posh